The Hands of God
by Xardion
Summary: The story of a powerful Raven team. Takes place in AC3. Final Chapter! Please R&R.
1. Intro

Disclaimer: I do not own Armored Core 3 or any of them. I just happen to have my own AC. Armored Core rocks!!!!

"I'm bored!"

In the underground terrain directly below the former New York City, two young men were conversing with each other. Or rather, one was talking while his friend listened quietly.

"Aren't you the least bit bored, Cain?"

"No, Koemai."

Koemai nearly yelled, "What do you mean 'no'? It's so damn quiet around here."

Cain closed his eyes briefly, "I like the quiet." 

"You do?"

"With all the battles between Union, the Controller and the other corporations, quiet is not a common occurrence."

These young men may seem normal, but they are in fact Ravens. Highly skilled mercenaries with mechanical robots called Armored Cores (AC's)

"I could use a little action."

"We haven't received any missions."

"So. Why not fight in the arena?"

"Can't. The Ravens we have to fight are on there own missions." A slight smirk came up his face, "Unless you want to fight with me?"

Koemai laughed, "No. I'm saving you for last."

It was then that a low humming was heard in the distance. The two men looked toward the sky and saw a group of helicopters flying toward the city. In minutes, the copters started firing machine guns. People stopped what they were doing and fled as the machines continued their attack.

"Why would they attack here?"

Koemai smiled, "Doesn't matter. Now I get to have some fun."

His partner shook his head and the two of them ran off. The helicopters continued their assault, shooting large amount of bullets through every building there.

"This is Team Gamma. Continuing to move down southwest."

"Affirmative. Team Beta, what's your status?"

"Everything is clear. Moving…wait. What the…!"

The sound of an explosion came over the comm.

"Team Beta; respond! Team Delta; move in on Beta's position."

"Roger."

The copters flew over the building to the street were Beta was.

"My god!"

The team was completely destroyed. Charred remains of the helicopter team smoked the ground.

"Alpha, this is Delta. Team Beta has been destroyed."

"What? Stay alert. Find out who did it."

"Roger"

The answer didn't take long. A hail of bullets flew up and destroyed two of the copters.

"What the…? An AC? It's a Raven!"

Indeed, a massive machine stepped out from behind one of the buildings, colored in red and black. It held a long gray rifle, the Karazawa. It was also equipped with a chain-gun and multi-missiles on its back. The machine looked up at them with a menacing glare.

"All remaining units destroy the AC!"

The helicopters began shooting at the AC, who just stood there, taking in the bullets as if it wasn't affected. Then it swiftly raised its rifle and fired an energy beam. The beam soared and instantly destroyed the copter. More beams flew and they each fell, one by one.

"All units, we need back………."

The AC stood there, monitoring the damage and noticing another swarm of helicopters coming at him.

"I guess these guys just don't get it yet. Guess I'll have to teach them old-school style."

The AC burst forward and a missile flew out from its back. The missile split into four and destroyed a few helicopters. The AC then stopped and its chain-gun unfolded and let loose a shower of bullets. The pilot laughed as he did so, hitting a copter with every bullet. He was so into it that he neglected to notice that another group was approaching him from the rear. They locked their missiles on the AC.

"Got ya."

Suddenly, a fiery bolt flew out of nowhere and destroyed the helicopter next to him. The pilot in the first AC looked in shock at the group behind him. But he wasn't surprised about the bolts flying up and wiping out the helicopters behind him. From out of the side of the next building came another AC, this one colored in dark blue and gray. Attached to its right arm was a grenade launcher.

"You really should keep an eye on your radar, Darkhand."

"Hey, what's the point if you're watching my back, Glaive?"

Glaive shot down another copter, "My ammo is more limited than yours."

"Hey, that's not my fault." A rocket hit his AC. "Let's talk later."

The two AC's then turned back and began firing on the helicopters.

"Emergency! We need back-up!"

On the streets, a group of tanks and MT's rolled in and began firing rockets at them. The two AC's dodged the fire.

"Darkhand, I'll handle this. You finish off the helicopters."

"Sure thing, Glaive."

The blue-gray AC jetted toward the tanks, avoiding most of the rockets that flew at him. When he got close enough, a white-blue glow emitted out of the left arm and sliced through the tank. Glaive (Cain) continued on, ripping apart the tanks and MTs with his lazerblade. Meanwhile, Darkhand (Koemai) was annihilating the helicopters.

"Come on guys. Give me a workout here."

Meanwhile, Glaive finished off the last tank when he caught something on radar. _Hmm.__ Its too fast to be an MT._ The object then came into view. A blood red AC stood before him. _Guess it was only a matter of time._

A female voice came over the comm., "Identify yourself."

"Strange words for a Raven."

"I'd just like to know whom it is I'm going to defeat."

"You first."

"I am Firewave."

"Glaive."

"Well Glaive. Sorry I can't talk any further, but my mission is to destroy you."

"I understand. But you should know that that is not going to go down easily, if at all."

"My, aren't we being modest."

"Just stating the facts. Let's go!"

The two Ravens jetted to the side, passing the buildings until they were in open land. Then Firewave started firing from her machine gun. Glaive managed to back away from most of it, but was getting hammered. Stopping for a brief moment, Glaive fired from his grenade launcher, which hit her dead on. However, that didn't stop her and she continued to pelt him with bullets. Glaive saw his radiator beginning to burn and he hit a button. A set of new boosters opened and the AC shot forward at a high speed, passing Firewave. Hitting another button, Glaive stopped the over boost and two jets on his shoulder fired out, turning him directly to his target.

"Check."

The grenade launcher fired, but Firewave suddenly sent her AC in the air and the grenade missed. Turning completely around, she continued her assault and Glaive found himself once again on the receiving end.

I hope Darkhand is having better luck than I am. 

Meanwhile Darkhand was still firing off the enemy helicopters. He couldn't last this long and was running out of ammo. And more copters were on their way.

"They just keep coming. Like cockroaches."

Darkhand backed off and hid behind a building. Checking his ammo, he saw that his chain-gun was empty; he only had two missiles and six bullets left in his gun. He would have to use them sparingly, since he didn't have a blade equipped on him. Then he thought of a plan and suddenly shot out of the alley.

"Come and get me, boys!"

The copters responded with another slew of gunfire and Darkhand over boosted and took off, with the enemy following behind. He then stopped and turned back around, taking a careful aim with his rifle.

"Let's see how you like this!"

He fired the beam and it flew through the helicopters, taking apart some of the helicopters and destabilizing them. They were out of control and they wound up crashing into each other, exploding in flames.

"Hahaha…Uh, oh."

The copters came again and Darkhand flew away again.

_I wish Glaive was here._

Glaive and Firewave continued their fight, with both AC fairly damaged. Firewave was able to hold onto a lock longer and pelt him with bullets, but all he had to do was lock on once for the grenade to do its work. Fireblade suddenly over boosted away and Glaive stopped fighting. It wasn't until she stopped, turned around and sat down that he realized what she was doing. A large cannon unfolded from her back and Glaive could see the electricity sparkle around it.

"No way!"

A massive beam of energy fired out and Glaive barely avoided it. However, the beam continued on and destroyed a nearby building. Glaive looked in shock.

I don't believe it. She got a linear cannon! 

Another bolt fired and Glaive avoided it again, but it came close enough to short out his launcher. He would have to wait until it cooled down, but he could see Firewave charging for another blast.

_It's risky, but it can be done._

Glaive suddenly over boosted, heading full speed toward her. _Is he crazy?_, she thought as she prepare to fire. Her hand pulled the trigger and the deadly bolt flew out. But at the last instant, Glaive managed to dodge it while still in over boost. The white-blue blade came out again and in one slash, he sliced the cannon on her back and followed with another blade, cutting off the right arm and pushing the AC down. 

"Checkmate."

As the AC smoked, a female form was seen coming out of the cockpit. But he didn't see her face due to the helmet she was wearing.

"Congratulations, for now. We'll meet again"

A cloud of smoke suddenly covered her and when it left, she was gone. He began to wonder where when he heard a transmission.

"Um, Glaive. I could use a little help here."

Checking his ammo, he saw that his grenade launcher was still damaged. Jettisoning it, he then picked up Firewave's machine gun. _Hmm. 300 rounds left. It'll have to do._ With this in mind, Glaive took off.

Meanwhile, Darkhand was in a lot of trouble. He used the last of his missiles and had only two rounds left in his energy gun. It was then that Glaive appeared beside him.

"So I'm saving you again. How many rounds do you have left?"

"Only two. How about you."

"My grenade was damaged, so I'm borrowing this. 300 rounds."

"Is that enough?"

"It is for you."

Glaive then tossed him the machine gun and then turned around, "I'll go first and distract them and you get them from behind. Just try not to hit me this time!"

"Just don't get in my way."

With that, Glaive flew up and into the enemy squadron. They focused on him and started to follow. But with their backs turned, Darkhand suddenly came out and unloaded a fresh load of bullets on the unsuspecting troops.

"What the…? Re-converge on the first Raven. This one is a decoy."

Unfortunately, when they turned, so did Glaive. He flew after then and began to chop them down with his blade. Now in utter confusion, the enemy squad was brought down to a finish, leaving behind charred remains, wrecked buildings, and two Ravens.

"Ha. Now that wasn't so bad, now was it?"

Glaive remained quiet, but muttered, "Not so bad, he says."

The two machines walked away; Glaive and Darkhand, the AC team known as the Hands of God.

(So what do you think? If you like it and want to see more chapters, please say so. If not and you want me to stop here, that's okay too. Oh, and by the way, I'm entering a fan-fiction contest so some of the stories I've been writings may slow down a bit, but hang in there.)


	2. Rogues

Disclaimer: I do not own Armored Core 3 or any of the series.

Chap. 2

"They are the Hands of God team. Ravens by the name of Cain and Koemai."

"What do you know about them?"

"Well, they are very good, both separately and as a team. Koemai pilots the AC Darkhand with Conferd and Intercepter as secondary AC's. Cain pilots the Glaive with Fenrir and Lockheed as his back-ups. They have different styles but overall, they are both very deadly."

"Deadly. Perfect. Can we get them to work with us?"

"They're Ravens. Pay them the right amount and they'll do anything."

"That may not be the case. Take a look at their profiles."

_Koemai___

_A Raven who cares about nothing more than the total destruction of his opponent.__ It is said that he finishes off AC's by crushing their heads. Likes powerful weapons and high speeds.****_

"I don't understand. He sounds promising."

"Not him. His partner."

_Cain_

_Lives by a certain code of a warrior.__ Though he prefers to use his blade, he is equipped with a grenade launcher for mid-range combat. He doesn't care for money, only for a chance to sharpen his skills._

Why is this a problem?

"Well. We've seen his fights in the arena. He's an unusual Raven. He doesn't kill unless he doesn't have a choice. Often, he only disables opposing Ravens. And his partner is extremely dangerous. He often destroys the area along with the enemy."

"The brains and the brawn. That explains why they're so deadly."

"They may be difficult to control. Our latest report on them tells that they fought in a battle without it being their mission. In a word, they're rouges."

"We're not here to control them, just to ask for their assistance. We need their help willing if we are to stop the Controller. And if they're rouges, then so much the better."

"Yes, sir. Should we give the standard mail?"

"Not yet. Let's observe them some more. I want to know more about their abilities."

Global Cortex...

Cain sits in the garage, staring at his AC, Glaive. The blue color gave it a unusually powerful appearance. It was the effect he wanted. This was his signature core. The others he only used when the mission required it. Fenrir and Lockheed were powerful, but Glaive was the strongest. Lockheed relies on speed attacks, but takes damage easily while Fenrir is a tread-wheel type, which has powerful weapons, but is slow. Glaive was the balance between them, capable of high power and might. It wasn't just its power. Its speed and boost ability were enough to make it a formidable core.  But it all depends on the pilot, Cain reminded himself. He then glanced at his partner AC, Darkhand. It was heavily armed, but his core was a middleweight, so the weapons made it overweight. However, Koemai usually dumps the excess weight when he uses up the ammo in the back weapons. Cain shook his head as he looked at the Karasawa laser-rifle. True, it was a powerful weapon and its reload time is almost non-existent. However, his friend is fond of going at high speeds, something that messes up the fuel and leaves him stranded for a time. However, this does take away the fact that his friend is very dangerous in it. Normally by the time he does recharge, everything is destroyed anyway. He smirked at this.

"Hey, Cain!"

Cain looked down to see Koemai waving at him. Next to him was a pretty young woman with brown hair and eyes.

"Koemai. Diana."

Diana waved at him and smiled. But he knew who she really was. Diana too was a Raven. She and her brother, Keini form the Dark Hood team. It was then that they first met. The Dark Hood specializes in sneak attacks. While Keini keeps the enemy distracted from a distance, Diana targets them with her laser cannon. By the time the enemy sees her, her brother will swoop in and destroy them up close. It almost worked except that Koemai found her earlier on and attacked her while Cain faced Keini in close range combat. He looked at them. How she was attracted to him was beyond him, but he didn't know about relationships so he left it alone.

"Hey, so what do you say? Do you want to come with us?"

"No thanks. Three's a crowd. Besides, I have work to do."

"Work? We haven't had any missions in some time. You need to take a break."

"I will, but go on without me. Have a nice time."

Koemai shrugged, "Well, I tried. Coming?"

Diana called up in a seductive tone, "Are you sure?"

"Sure."

Diana now shrugged and walked off, "I tried. Now we can go."

Diana and Koemai walked away and she looked at her boyfriend, "I'm starting to think he isn't human. He wasn't even affected when I flirted to him. He could have at least looked interested."

Koemai nodded, "That's just how he is. He's just not your normal person, even by Raven's standards."

Diana smirked, "You don't think he's....gay?"

Koemai laughed, "I asked him that at one time during a battle."

"And."

"After we defeated them, he turned on me. Trust me, the last thing you want to do is call him that."

Koemai stopped laughing, "Seriously though, he told me that he finds most women attractive, but he isn't interested. I believe he's looking for the right woman."

Now it was Diana's turn to laugh, "The right woman? This day and age? Does such a person exist?"

"I don't know. Does that include you? Ouch!"

Diana pinced him and ran off. Koemai smirked and ran after her. Cain saw them from a distance. And they are Ravens?

A blink appeared on his e-mail. Cain opened it. The message had no name on it.

_Glaive_

_Meet me in the arena._

_Firewave___

Her? Well she did say she would meet him again. And she asked for Glaive, not his name. She wants a rematch, I guess. He looked at his AC and smiled. _Back to the battlefield, old friend?_ The machine's visor-eyes shimmered as if to answer.

The arena...

Glaive entered the arena and looked around. There was no sign of anything there. The machine walked into the center of the massive dome and waited. Suddenly, another pair of doors open and in walked the reddish AC. Firewave. Glaive turned to it.

"So you came after all."

Glaive didn't respond, just set itself to fight.

"Calm down. I didn't come here to fight. Just to talk."

"Are you sure?"

"Huh?"

"You asked for Glaive. I assume you wanted to fight me."

"We weren't formally introduced."

"You first."

"My name is Aria."

"Cain."

"Interesting name. It must have people think twice before facing you."

"........"

"You're not big on taking, are you? I figured as much." Her weapons suddenly jettisoned, leaving her only her blade weapon. "Actions speak louder, don't you say?"

He noticed that she only kept her blade. She did her research on me. With that, he jettisoned his own weapon and kept his blade armed. Her blade is not as powerful as his, but it was faster. Firewave suddenly blasted toward him and slashed out. He raised his blade, deflecting her strike and slashed out his own. She raised her blade upward and blocked it. The two stayed hooked for awhile and then backed away.

"Not bad, huh?"

"Impressive."

At a bar across town, Koemai and Diana were playing pool and drinking beer. Diana was currently beating him.

"Six ball, double kiss." She blew a kiss at him before hitting the ball down the hole. She then moved around him, rubbing up against him as she did, "Eight ball, corner pocket."

The ball went in as she said, thus making her the winner. Koemai grumbled.

"Time to pay up. Eighteen hundred credits."  
  
Koemai shrugged and paid his money, "Didn't like this game anyway."

Diana moved up to him, her arms around his head, "Don't tell me you're sore?"  
  


"Nah. It was Cain's money anyway."

She lightly pushed him away, "You took his money?"

He waved his hand, "Don't worry. He only uses enough credits for repairs and he gives me whatever is left over. He really doesn't care."

"Geez, the more I hear about him, the more I wonder. What do you think he's doing now?"

"Probably sitting in bed with a cup of hot chocolate and reading a book."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously."

It was then that a group of guys sauntered up to the table, standing in between of Koemai and Diana. The larger of the men grinned at her.

"Hey, beautiful. Where have you been in my life?"

"Probably staying away from it."

The guy scowled a bit, but kept his grin, "How would you like to leave this place and have some fun with us?"

Diana gave an evil grin, "I'd love to, but you need to do something first."

"Oh, really. What?"

"Take a bath! You stink like hell!"

The man growled and his arm flew out to slap her, but she caught it in mid-air. "I wouldn't do that, for two reasons. One, my boyfriend over there..." she glanced at Koemai.

The other two guys turned to look at Koemai, who was currently still holding his pool stick, "What? What's this skinny little twip going to do?"

"...is a Raven."

Their eyes widened in shock. _Him, a Raven?_ But before their brains could fully comprehend this, Koemai twirled the stick and smashed it over the face of the first guy and then stabbed it in the gut of the second. They fell without a beat. The large man turned to him and pulled out a gun. Koemai looked at him and raised his arms.

"I didn't tell you the second reason."

Next thing you know, the gun flew out of his hand and he found himself with a blade on his throat.

"I am one too."

She kicked in his knees in and he bent down to the ground. "Haven't you ever heard? Ravens never travel alone."

She removed her knife and put it away. At the same time, Koemai kicked him in the face, knocking him out.

"What took you so long?"

She smiled evilly again, "I wanted to see you sweat. Come on, let's get out of here."

Koemai smiled and thought to himself, He should have come. He would have had a blast here.

Meanwhile...

The two Ravens continued their fight and continued to slash at each other. They had taken their fight to a higher level, using their over-boosts to fly at each other and clash into each other. Glaive hammered her into a wall, but she managed to slide out and slash the back of the AC. Glaive fell forward and suddenly swung back and she blocked again, but the force of the blow knocked the AC down again and she fell. Before it could rise though, Glaive was on top of her, his blade pointing down. She lost, but she didn't seem mind.

"Congratulations. You are every bit as powerful as said."

Glaive moved away and Firewave stood up. His monitor suddenly blinked and a signature ID came up.

"In case you need backup on a mission." Firewave stood up.

"I already have a partner."

"I know. But you don't usually work with him on missions." It began to turn away, "Think about it." Firewave reasserted its weapons and walked out. "Thanks for the interesting time. We'll meet again." Firewave disappeared and Glaive was left wondering about the mysterious female pilot.

_Firewave__.__ Aria._

__________________

How do you like it? Please let me know.


	3. Mission

Disclaimer: Same as before

Chap.3

Koemai returned to his section of the Cortex after his date with Diana to find that Glaive was missing.

_Huh? We haven't received any missions, have we? Or maybe he's on a solo one._

At that time, the hanger door above him opened and Glaive hovered in and settled in its hanger. After shutting down, Cain came out of his core.

"Back from your date already?" he called out as he exited the core.

"Afraid so. She got called on a mission, so it ended early. Man, you should have been with us."

Cain closed his eyes, "Let me guess. You two got into another bar fight."

Koemai laughed, "Can't hide anything from you, huh?"

Cain shook his head, "And here I thought you caused enough problems on your own. But ever since you started dating her, you get into more bar fights than ever."

"What can I say? She likes starting fights and I like fighting."

Cain muttered, "A match made in heaven, or more like hell."

"You got it. Speaking of which, where did you run off to with Glaive? Must have been important if you used him."

Cain thought for awhile before speaking, "I received some mail for a battle in the arena. I had to face an opponent."

Koemai began to climb the ladder, "An arena battle? Well, at least it better than your normal nights. Who was your opponent?"

"Al...Firewave."

Koemai got to the top, "Interesting. Firewave. So, how much did you get for beating him?"

"Her. And nothing."

"What? You fought for free? Aw, that's it. You are not normal. Are you serious?"

"Yes. But don't worry. I didn't use any ammo, so all I have to pay for is repairs. I should still have some money left on my account."

Koemai scratched his head, "Well, there's a slight problem with that. You see, when we went out...we played a little bet on pool....and well...you see."  
  


"You lost."

"Big time."

"How much?"

"Umm. Eighteen hundred."

Cain looked at his damaged machine. He knew that the mechanics would repair it anyway, but with eighteen hundred credits lost, he was now in debt. And he wouldn't be able to use Glaive in that time. No problem. That was why he had Fenrir and Lockheed. Just then, a beep came up on their mail again. It was a mission for the both of them. The mission explained that a massive weapon has appeared somewhere in the water system of Layered. It's trapped there now, but they can't destroy it due to its massive firepower. It's only a matter of time before it gets out, so Ravens are needed to destroy it.

Koemai cheered, "Alright! Finally, a mission. I was beginning to think one would never come."

Cain smiled at his friend, but it quickly faded away as he clicked the button. "Mission accepted."

_________

Underneath Layered...

The two Ravens dropped in, Koemai in his Interceptor AC and Cain in his Lockheed. Koemai decided to use Interceptor due to its super-heated missiles. It can cause even the strongest of armors of burn up and melt down. This, plus the missile extensions make it a very destructive AC. Just the way he likes it.

Cain was in his Lockheed, a lightweight AC equipped with a Karazawa. Although that was its only armament, the core itself was armed with a exceed orbit option in which the core itself launches an energy weapon. The only problem was that it was easily damaged. He'll just have to make due with its speed and energy power.

_"The target is ahead of you. Your AC will not function should it fall into the water. You have been warned."_

They both knew it would have been better if they had hover-leg units, but theirs were damaged and no longer in use for the time being. So they had to be careful in this fight. As the AC's dropped in, a gigantic splash erupted nearby. In the water, the massive weapon appeared. It looked like a serpentine lobster with spines. The machine arose out of the water and instantly trained its weapons on them. A slew of missile shot upward into the air fell downward at the two Ravens. They both dodged the fire and split up.

"So you like missiles huh? Well take this!" With that, Koemai pulled the trigger and launched a full payload of missiles at the machine. All of them hit it, but it wasn't affected. The machine then opened two extra slots and ejected two orbiters. They began to shoot beams of energy at Interceptor, causing him to back away. The barrage continued, driving Interceptor off the deck's edge and heading into the water. Interceptor was trapped when the orbiters suddenly exploded. On another deck, Lockheed had blasted the orbiter with his rifle.

"Thanks for the help."

"It's not over yet."

Lockheed boosted in the air and fired several rounds at the machine. The beams hit, but the massive machine was still unaffected. Gun turrets focused on Lockheed and fired several rounds of grenades. Lockheed dodged a few of them, but one hit him hard. Lockheed fell back and Cain looked at his monitors. His systems were almost overheated, but still functional. It was then that another swarm of missiles flew at him again. Lockheed quickly boosted back and hid behind one of the construction building just as the missiles came in contact.

_We have to do better than this._

Meanwhile, Interceptor was still launching its missiles at it and managing to cause some damage. But it was still going and now it fired several grenades at him. Interceptor dodged just in the nick of time, but was tossed aside by the aftershock. Luckily, Interceptor was caught by Lockheed before he fell into the water.

"Are you okay?"

"No! This is ridiculous. This guy's on my list."

The massive weapon turned to them again.

"Interceptor, have you used the vertical warheads yet?"

"No."

"Well, now is a good time. Do what you do best."

"My kind of fighting. I'm setting my missiles to auto-fire. Now let's show this guy why we are the Hands of God."

Both core shot off toward the weapon. Interceptor armed its back missiles, and with the auto-fire on, the reaction time was sped up. The missile fired out and the swarms dove down in on the weapon. At the same time, Lockheed took a vantage point and activated its EO. The orbiter shot up and automatically fired while using the Karasawa and the howitzer gun in his left arm. The weapon was constantly pelted by the continually fire. Damage began to show clearly on it and the machine began to smoke.

_Damn. I'm out of rear missiles._

Hitting a switch, Interceptor opened a toggle payload on its superheated missiles. But it would take longer to lock on fully. Lockheed saw what he was doing.

"Leave it to me."

Lockheed was low on energy fuel, so the EO retracted back into the core. Lockheed ran out and faced the weapon as it powered its grenade launcher. He diverted the machine's attention away from Interceptor.

"Interceptor, now!"

Interceptor fired its missiles, massively damaging the weapon and exposing its core. Lockheed then fully gained its energy and pointed the rifle onto the core. Cain focused on the target and locked on.

"We are the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end."

The energy beams fired mercilessly and the core of the weapon exploded and the machine followed as well, creating a huge explosion.

Koemai cheered, "Yeah, we did it! We are the Hands of God, and no one can stop up."

Cain closed his eyes and muttered, "Mission completed. Returning to base."

_________________________


	4. Celebration

Disclaimer: Same as before

Chap. 4

The two Ravens completed their mission and received their credits. As usual, Cain took only what he needed to pay for his damaged AC as well as for provisions.

"Man, I feel good. Let's go and celebrate."

"No thanks."

"I didn't hear you. You are coming, whether you like it or not. At least do one thing normal in your life."

".....Fine."

The two of them headed out into town. Koemai did most of the talking while Cain mostly listened to his friend. He began to remember how they first met.

_Flashback...._

_Cain had accepted a mission which was to clean out the arena of intruders. At that time, he was a beginner and his AC was equipped with a standard rifle and high-speed blade. Nevertheless, he showed exceptional skills as a Raven. He entered the arena and found nothing. Suddenly without warning, groups of MT's attacked him. True, they were no threat singularly, but in groups they were damaging opponents. Glaive swooped around them and shot them down one-by-one. But before he could do more, his energy fuel ran out and he started to take more damage._

_"Looks like you could use some help._

_Another Raven came out, this one with a machine gun. It began shooting the MT's left and right. However, it seemed as though it was firing at random, with no real control. The AC ran out of ammo, but the MT's were still coming. Suddenly, a rifle flies at him and he grabs it. The first AC flies in front of him and ignites his orange laser-blade._

_"Cover me."_

_The AC over-boosted and slashed the first MT while the other one fired off several rounds, destroying the others. The two of them went on like this and in no time at all, all MT's were destroyed._

_"That was awesome. You fly in and rip 'em to shreds and I shoot them to oblivion. We could be a good team."_

_"A team?__ Interesting idea. But who are you?"_

_"Me? My name is Koemai, and this is my Darkhand."_

_"Cain and the AC Glaive."___

_"Glaive, huh?__ Glaive and Darkhand. The hands of Death?"_

_"No. Judging from your style, you use vastly aggressive weapons while I prefer blade battle. Different at light and dark, good and evil, justice and vengeance."_

_"I like that last one. Justice and vengeance."_

_"But only God has the right to carry out both."_

_"Then let us be his hands. The Hands of God."_

_"So be it. We are the Hands of God."_

And that's how it has been ever since. They succeed vastly in their missions and in the EX arena. They quickly became one of the most feared Raven teams. Although both their personalities and fighting styles were different, they became both solid teammates and good friends.

"Hey! Are you coming or not?"

The call broke him out of his daydream, "Huh? Oh, sure."

Koemai lead him into a bar where they found a table and sat down. The waitress came to their order.

"Beer. I don't care what brand, just as long as it's good."

"Cola, please."

The waitress looked at him in surprise, "Excuse me?"

"A cola. There is some here, right?"

"Well, yes. Right away." She walked away and Koemai turned to him, "A cola? Are you insane?"

Cain just looked at him, "I don't drink. I have a low tolerance for it."

Koemai shook his head, "You are just too much. You don't drink, you don't annihilate, and you don't date. Are you even human?"

"Probably not." was the stoic reply.

The drinks were served and they drank and talked about their missions. Koemai went on about on of their arena battles.

"And then, he turned his back and I just blew him to hell. He didn't have a chance."

It was then that three guys came up to them. Each of them was wearing bandages on various parts of their bodies. Behind them, a couple more large men joined them.

"That's him alright. Time to pay, bastard."

Koemai looked up from his drink, "Not again. Didn't you guys learn the last time?"

"Get up punk. We're gonna teach you a lesson." Turning their attention to Cain, "And I guess this is one of your Raven friends. Not the slut from last time, but if you don't stay out of this, we'll kill you."

Cain continued drinking as though he wasn't listening, "If you guys want to fight, then that's fine. But you are either stupid or have a death wish to go up against a Raven, much less two." He turned to them, his icy gaze focused on the leader, "It's your call."

"Make that three."

Behind them, a young woman stood behind them. She had platinum blond-red hair and she wore a leather jacket. But what they noticed was the gun she was holding.

Instantly, they tensed up and moved away. "Hey lady, chill. We were just playing around. They backed away further and one of them that was hiding in the back pulled out a gun. The woman fired, knocking the gun out of his hand.

"Care to try again? Next time, I'll aim lower." She pointed down, "Much lower."

They obviously got the hint because they all walked out of the bar. The woman put the gun away in its holster and walked toward the other two. Cain looked up at her.

"Thank you for your help."

"No problem. Ravens should stick together, except in arena fights."

Koemai laughed, "Ha! That's a good one. You seem cool. What's your name?"

"Alia."

Cain looked up from his drink again. "Alia? Firewave."

"Yes. Have we met before?"

"Twice."

"Glaive? Cain?"

Koemai looked at her again, "So you're Firewave. Interesting. Care to join us?"

"Thanks, but I was just passing by and I have to get going."

She walked to the door and waved a goodbye before leaving. Koemai turned to his friend, who was still looking at the door. A small smile came up his face. So I guess you are human after all.

Cain saw his smile and turned back to his drink, which only made him smile more. They didn't say anything for some time and they Koemai exploded.

"I don't believe it. You like her."

"What do you mean?"

"I saw the way you looked at her. She's hot and she's a Raven. You have good taste, I'll give you that."

"............"

"Well, I could see you're going to deny it, so I'll leave it alone, for now. I can't believe it. My little raven is growing up." He gave a fake tear.

Cain just looked up at him and continued drinking.

The next morning, Koemai awoke in with a massive hangover. Damn, I knew I should have stopped after the third cup. He stumbled into the bathroom and washed up. While he was getting his clothes on, a beep came over his mail. It was from Mirage.

Raven.

An AC had managed to steal a prototype chipset from us. We have already sent our own forces, but they are not capable of taking it down. We need you to destroy the AC and the chipset. Good luck.

Koemai quickly ran out of the door and reached the hanger_. Hmm. I could use Darkhand, but I think this time, Conferd would be a lot better._ He hit a switch and the hanger rotated to show the AC Conferd, a dark grey machine armed with a machine gun and flame thrower. Koemai entered the machine and took off.

"The hand of vengeance comes for you."


	5. Fire and Sword

Disclaimer: You know the drill

Chap. 5

Cain entered the hanger to find Koemai's Conferd missing. _So he's using Conferd. I bet everything will be in flames by the time he's done._

____

Indeed, in the location, Conferd was flying at high speed, using its flamethrower to burn everything in front of him.

"Raven, forget about them. Locate and destroy the AC."

Conferd complied and flew past the MT's, occasionally burning a few in his way. He reached a corridor and turned into it. A floating MT guarded the area and began shooting energy beams. Its answer was a swarm of bullets from the machine gun.

"Are you serious? You can't stop me."

Conferd finally entered a room. There waiting for him was the AC, Chain Impact

"Finally, a worthy opponent!"

_Man, he sounds like Cain._ His thoughts were interrupted when Chain Impact began firing at him. He was armed with dual machine guns and he was using them to the fullest extent. He continually fired at Conferd, but Conferd was able to avoid the fire and fly close to him.

"Bye, bye."

Conferd raised both arms and unleashed a fury of bullets and flame. The combination of the two weapons completed overwhelmed Chain Impact. Chain Impact flew away from the destruction, but its systems were overheated. And if that wasn't enough, Conferd chased after him and cornered him against the wall. In no time at all, Chain Impact exploded in flames. As if that wasn't enough, Conferd began shooting the area as a mark, in the end the entire area was in flames

"Toasty."

The dark AC disappeared in the flames.

______

Meanwhile, Cain was busy looking over the repairs of his Glaive. The AC was still being worked on, but it was almost completed.

"Hey there."

Cain turned to see Diana coming in the hanger.

"Hello."

"Is Koemai around?"

"No. He went out on a mission."

She gave a semi-sultry smile, "Oh. Well, how about I just talk with you?"

He did appear to notice, "Talk away."

"Koemai has told me a bit about you. You are a strange person and an even stranger Raven. You fight with a certain style and you always try not to kill your opponent. That is why you mainly use the blade, isn't it?"

He shrugged, "Partly. But I use it because I believe that a true warrior would do so. It makes the battle personal when you are in close range to your opponent. With long-range weapons, you can just shoot and shoot until it's over and not care. Also, it takes true skill to be able to fight with a blade."

"Wow. A real samurai."

"No. Just a code of honor. Besides, I use a grenade launcher as well. Just because I follow a code doesn't mean others will."

They stayed quiet for a bit and then she spoke up, "Hmm. You know, I think this is the longest time I've ever spoken to you."

"Sorry. Not much of a speaker."

"May I ask you something? Are you...attracted to women?"

His face registered no changes, "Why do you ask?"

"Well, in the little time I've seen you, you've never been around a woman. You're not gay; Koemai told me that. So what's the deal?"

"I'm just not interested now."

The smile returned, "Oh? And what would happen if an attractive woman found you interesting?"

He answered shortly, "Doubtful. I'm not the interesting type."

"You give yourself too little credit. Okay, what if I said that I was attracted to you?"

He looked at her briefly before turning away again, "Unlikely. Aside from what I mentioned earlier, there is also the fact that you are with Koemai. I wouldn't do that to my friend."

"Are you sure?"

She put her hands on his shoulders and faced him. He looked at her nervously as she began to inch her face forward. Cain didn't move as she came to an inch away from his face, practically breathing on him.

"Don't you find me attractive?" she whispered as she inched a little closer. But he made no move or blink. Suddenly, she backed away.

"Wow. Any other man would have had their way with me right now. You really are different. And your loyalty is admirable, but don't worry. I wouldn't do that to Koemai. I really do care about him."

"That's good to know. Now could you move your hands, please?" he said, still a little nervous.  
  


She quickly backed away, "Oh, sorry."

At that moment, Conferd was injected into its hanger and Koemai came out cheering. "Hey, Cain. You should have seen it. The guy didn't stand a chance. It was a work of art."

"I know. The second I saw Conferd gone, I knew that the place must look like hell right now."

He slid down the ladder and approached them, "You said it. Hey, Diana. Were you waiting for me?"

"Yes, my little destroyer. Actually, I was talking to your friend here to pass the time."

"Get lost. You mean you actually got him talking?" _I wonder what about._

"Yeah. It wasn't hard." A beep came up and she looked at her beeper. "It's my brother. A mission has come up. Well, I'll see you later." She kisses Cain on the cheek, which surprises both him and Koemai. She then turned to Koemai and wraps her arms around his neck, "And I'll see you tonight." She kisses him passionately on the lips and then walks away. Koemai is stuck in a state of shock and Cain smirks.

"Unpredictable and nearly unstable. Yeah, she's a definite match for you."

_Beep, beep_

That came from the e-mail. Cain climbed the ladder and checked the mail.

"Cain, what is it?"

"EX arena. We have a match. We are to face team Saber Strike."

"Really? It's about time."

Saber Strike was a team that consisted of the AC's Gauntlet and Ripshade. They used the same fighting style as they did, with one using long-range weapons and the other using close-range techniques. For awhile, it was considered that both teams were merely copies of each other. Now was the time to see with was the true deal.

"So do we accept?" Even though he knew the answer.

"Oh, hell yeah!"

Cain began typing, "Battle accepted. We face them in the wastelands tomorrow afternoon. Glaive will be ready by them."

The next day...

 Glaive and Darkhand entered the wastelands separately. The battle was initiated. Glaive waited for his opponent. Sure enough, an AC was flying toward him. However, it was the AC Gauntlet. It was a heavily armored blue and yellow machine loaded with a bazooka and rear multi-missiles. The machine began firing its bazooka and Glaive dashed around the fire. He was expecting to fight Ripshade but was stuck fighting Gauntlet. No sense in complaining about it. Glaive found and opening and fired. The good news is that it hit him directly; the bad news is that it wasn't affected. The heavy armor works well. Suddenly, two extensions popped out of the rear of the core and began firing energy beams. At the same time, it was firing the bazooka at the same time, leaving Glaive dodging various forms of fire.

_This could take longer than I thought._

Meanwhile, Darkhand was busy fending off Ripshade. Ripshade was also blue and yellow, but lightly armored and equipped with a right arm blade, shield and triple rockets on its back. But the problem was its extensions. Stealth extensions; they allow the AC to avoid lock on. Without it, Darkhand couldn't get a lock and therefore was fighting blind. Worse yet, Ripshade was dashing toward him constantly and using the MARS parry blade, the most powerful one. Darkhand found himself retreating from his quick opponent.

_This is ridiculous. Why am I fighting him to begin with?_


	6. The Arena

Disclaimer: You know the drill

Chap. 6

"Darkhand, come in."

"Glaive, can't talk now. I'm a little tied up."

"Same here. They set this up well."

"Well I'm so glad you're enjoying this, but in case you haven't noticed, we're in trouble."

"I have a plan. Head for the spaceship. And get both of their attentions."

"What? Are you sure?"

"No."

Darkhand blasted off toward the spaceship relic with Ripshade in hot pursuit. As he flew, a few energy beams narrowly missed him. He didn't see Glaive around.

"Glaive, where are you?"

No reply came and Darkhand stopped at the relic, seemingly trapped.

"Looks like you partner abandoned you. Why don't you just give up?"

"Funny, we were just about to suggest that same thing."

From high above, Glaive dove in and fired a few grenade rounds at Gauntlet. Gauntlet was pushed back, slightly damaged and ready to raise its energy shield when Glaive extended its blade and sliced off the shield arm.

"Darkhand, go for it."

Darkhand raised both his Karasawa rifle and his EO option and pelted Gauntlet with sheer energy. Without its shield, Gauntlet was overwhelmed by the power and in moments, Gauntlet was down and out, leaving Ripshade behind.

"Glaive, I have a slight problem. I'm out of energy. I have to recharge."

"Don't worry." Glaive ejected his grenade launcher and extended his blade, "This one's mine."

Ripshade continued to come, despite seeing what happened to his partner. Glaive blasted toward him and struck. But his blade impacted the energy shield and Ripshade charged his blade. Glaive backed away just before the deadly blade could hit, but his awkward movement allowed Ripshade to fire its tri-rockets and knock him back. Ripshade stood over him and prepared to strike when several blasts hit his triple rockets off. It was from Darkhand and the distraction was enough for Glaive to get back up, but he waited for Ripshade to notice him again.

"Glaive, now you're even."

With both armed with only a blade, Riphade charged again and slashed out. Glaive dodged the slash and made one of his own. However, Ripshade dodged, but not before damaging him somewhat. Ripshade saw what had happened and dumped his extension. With increased speed, Ripshade charged repeatedly at Glaive, with Glaive only barely dodging the slashes. He was about to strike again when he realized that the blade ammo had run out. Ripshade had no weapons to fight with anymore, just as Glaive wanted. Glaive made a sweeping motion and floors Ripshade.

"Give it up. You can't win now."

Ripshade stood still for a moment and the suddenly OB at him in an attempt to ram him, but Glaive simply sidestepped the charge and slashed the right arm and part of the core booster. Ripshade knelt to the ground and Glaive moved in front of it, blade extending out.

"Checkmate."

The match was over.

_______________

(Yeah I know it's a short chapter, but I'll make it up in the next one.)


	7. The Gift

Disclaimer: Same as before. Why do I even bother?

Chap. 7

"Alright, that'll teach them not to challenge the Hands of God, don't you think?"

"It was a good match, although I wish Ripshade had a left-arm blade. It would have been a better fight."

"Are you serious? Oh yeah, you are." He looked at his watch. "Whoa, I better get going. Diana is going to kill me if I'm late. Wanna come?"

Cain gave him an incredulous look, "Are you serious? Just go."

"Ok. See ya." Koemai quickly ran out of the hanger.

_What's his rush? Oh well._ Cain went to the computer terminal. Glaive was fully repaired and ready for the next battle. Cain nodded at this and decided that he should go out himself. However, he checked one last thing on his terminal.

_Project 9-B_

Koemai hurried through the Cortex into another set of hangers and rooms. But as he was running through one particular hanger when...

"There he is, boss. That's the guy."

Koemai turned to see the same group of punks coming in the hanger with an even bigger guy with them. They marched over to Koemai and the big man began to examine Koemai.

"This shrimp beat you guys?"

Hey boss. It wasn't our fault. Those sluts that were with him distracted us."

"Yeah whatever." Turning to Koemai, "So...what have you to say for yourself?"

Three things. First, you're a moron. This the third time already. Do you really think its going to be different this time? Two, one of those sluts as you say it is my girlfriend, so I suggest you watch your mouth. And three, you are all going to apologize and walk away."

The thugs began laughing at him and the big man smirked at him, "And whose going to make us? You?"

"You bet."

"You and what army?"

Koemai pointed his thumb behind him. At that moment, the AC behind him came to life. It pointed it laser cannon arms at then and began to charge. The thugs saw this and immediately ran out of the hanger. The AC powered down and out came Diana.

"Well that was fun."

"Those guys are real idiots. You'd think they'd know that the weapons couldn't fire because it wasn't in battle mode."

Diana slid down, "And they called me a slut. I should have put it in battle mode. That reminds me." She gave him a wry look. "They said 'sluts' as in plural. Were you with someone else?"

Koemai looked at her and smiled, "Yeah, a hot red-head with a gun."

Diana gave a fake cry, "Oh how could you? After all we've been through."

"I'm sorry."

"Now jokes aside. What happened?"

Koemai lent on the ladder, "After one of our recent missions, me and Cain went out for a drink. The guy asked for a soda. A SODA IN A BAR!!! Can you believe it? Anyway, those guys came up to us again and a red head showed up and helped up out. Her name was Alia and she uses the Firewave AC."

"Why would she help you guys?"

"Hm. Oh, Cain knows her. Says he met her in a fight. I think he likes her."

Diana gave a weird look, "What do you mean? As in LIKES her?"

"I think so. Who would have thought that he was human after all?"

"I've got to meet this woman."

Koemai shrugged, "So...shall we go?"

She looked at him, "You know, locking on inside an AC really turned me on." She put her arms around him. "How about we go to your AC and....work the controls."

Outside...

Cain was walking the streets late at night. In reality though, the sky he saw was nothing but a massive hologram. The real sky hasn't been seen by human eyes since the Great Destruction. The only real glimpse a person would see is if they were on their way to Mars. But the shutters on the windows would close so soon, no one would really see what the surface looked like now. But as far a holograms go, this one did produce a good enough moon. While he passed through the town, he saw many people wandering around. Many of them probably looking for jobs, he assumed. It wasn't until his thoughts started to drift when he saw a familiar face.

"Alia?"

Alia was slumped next a wall on the far side. Bur what caught Cain's attention were the group of guys heading toward her. He briefly thought about leaving her. She can take care of herself. But he saw the dazed look on her face and realized something. _She's drunk._ And with the two men coming at her, she wouldn't be able to defend herself. Almost without thinking, he strode over to her by the wall. Her eyes were watery, but she was able to make him out.

"Cain...."

Cain nodded to her before slinging her arm around his shoulder. The two men came faster and Cain saw that he wasn't going to escape with her condition. Seating her down on a bench nearby, he waited for the would-be attackers.

"Hey pal. That's a nice girl you got there. Mind if we borrow her?" one of them snickered.

"As a matter of fact, I do." he replied coldly.

"Well too bad, 'cuz we ain't asking."

Cain turned to see one of them pull out a knife, "Come on, don't be stupid. You could walk away and not get hurt. We promise we won't hurt her, much."

Cain spoke in an even colder tone. "And you could walk away and live. And I'll promise you that I won't have to bury you."

The men backed off a bit at his tone, but smirked a bit, "You were warned, pal."

"So were you."

One of them came forward, knife in hand, hoping to scare Cain off. But Cain suddenly snapped his arm forward and grabbed the man's wrist. He then twisted, causing him to release the knife and give a yelp of pain. The other one came to help, but Cain shot out a forward kick to the gut, causing him to double over in pain. _Good, the beer is still in their system. That'll be an advantage._ Cain repeated the action on the second one but he managed to grab his leg. Cain released the man's wrist and spun around, catching him in the chin in a devastating kick. The man fell and Cain stood up. But the second one came behind him, knife in hand. Suddenly, a gunshot rang out, and Cain saw Alia, sitting up from the bench holding her gun at the second man. Her aim was a little shaky, but she was still able to aim. Quickly, he ran off, leaving his partner unconscious on the floor. Cain walked over to Alia as she was putting the gun away.

"Are you alright?"

Alia looked up at him, "Yeah, I'm fine." She tried to stand up, but wobbled a bit. Cain slung her arm around his neck to help her up.

"Where do you live?"

"Why? Are you going to rape me?  Or maybe you're expecting a reward."

"I'm just trying to help."

She began to push him away. "I didn't...ask for your help."

Cain held onto her, "Well you're getting it anyway. Besides, you helped me out, so it's only proper that I do the same. Ravens should stick together." He smiled a bit, "Except in arena fights."

She looked at him dazed and after some thinking, decided to lead him to her apartment. They traveled the street, not saying a word to each other. They finally reached her apartment, which was connected to the hanger. She fumbled to get the keys and managed to open the door. As he helped her in, she started speaking, more softly.

"You know. I'm sorry for what I said either. You know, about you raping me."

"Don't worry. You have your reasons."

He helped her inside and settled her on the couch. He began to leave, but she didn't let him go.

"You know. About that reward." She pulled him closer. "It's not like you don't deserve it."

Cain was starting to get nervous, "No. I should go." But her grip held fast and she began to pull him closer. "What's wrong? Don't you want this?" A lopsided grin came up on her face. "I know I do."

Cain was a little torn. This woman was starting to get to him. He stopped resisting and began to move to her. But then he remembered her condition. _No, this is wrong. If I take advantage of her like this, then I really would be raping her._ Calmly, he unslung her arm from around him neck and began to move away. But he began to see tears well up in her eyes. _Oh great, now what? _He saw no other choice. He began to lean toward her again, coming closer to her face and he tenderly kissed her....on the forehead. Remarkably, she smiled again, a genuine smile and softly went to sleep. Cain grabbed a blanket from off her bed and wrapped it around her. Then he shut the lights and locked the door as he left

Later on, Cain walked inside the hanger, thinking about his encounter with Alia. _Could Koemai be right? Do I care about this woman?_ As he entered, he heard a slight noise. Looking up, he saw nothing. Dismissing it, he continued to walk when he heard it again. When he looked up, he saw one of Darkhand's fingers twitch. Then the arm shifted slightly. Then the head rotated slightly. Cain went to the control terminal outside of his friend's AC to see if there were any problems, but the computer showed no problem. Cain inspected further, but the hatch of the AC opened. Cain looked in surprise as Diana came out, partially dressed and adjusting her shirt on. As he looked on, Koemai also came out, ruffling his hair and buckling his belt. She turned and kissed him and Cain knew instantly what had happened. Koemai looked down and stopped kissing her and they both looked down when they saw Cain watching them with arms folded.

"Um. It's not what you think."

"What do I think?"

"No, I mean..."

"You don't have to explain. What you do in your private life is your business. But in an AC?"

Diana smirked, "You should try it. It's exhilarating."

"Don't think so."

She shrugged and turned back to Koemai. "Same time Friday?"

He pulled her to him and kissed her, "Count on it. But next time, your AC."

An evil smile came up, "Deal."

Diana left, giving both men a wink. After she was gone for a while, Cain turned to Koemai and shook his head. At that time, a darkly clothed man entered the hanger. Cain and Koemai turned to face him.

"Are you the Raven team, Hands of God?"

Koemai walked forward, "Yep, that's us. Who are you?"

The man strode forward, "I am a representative of the Union organization."

Cain folded his arms, "What do you want?"

The representative looked at him, "We are waging a war to stop the Controller. Recently, it has been acting very irregular and we believe that it may be malfunctioning. We want to shut it down so that people can be free to govern themselves."

Koemai shook his head, "From what I hear, you guys are a bunch of terrorists. Why should we believe you?"

Because you've seen it or yourselves. Haven't you noticed that the current system is declining as of late? If something is not done soon, then we face worldwide chaos."

Koemai just shrugged, "Why us?"

"We're looking for people who will join our cause. We heard a lot about you guys and it sure would be a big help if you joined us." The man lifted a briefcase, "You don't have to join us if that is your wish. But consider this a token of our esteem. If you feel that you can't join us, think of it as an extra part for all work you guys have done." The man turned and began to exit the hanger. "I hope we meet again."

Both men watched him leave and Koemai opened the suitcase. Inside was something that made both their eyes widen.

"No way!"

It was an AC optional part; Op-Intensify


	8. Uncertainty

Disclaimer: Same as before.

Chap. 8

"I don't believe this. They're actually giving us this!"

"This is a surprise."

Koemai looked over the part. "Do you know how rare these things are? And how powerful? These things make you a super Raven. Can you imagine how powerful our AC's will be?"

Cain thought about it, "Yes, our AC's abilities would increase dramatically. But only one of us could have it."

"Huh?"

Look. It's only one unit. It can only be divided with one pilot's ACs." Looking at Koemai, "Here. You should have it."

"Huh? No it's all right. We'll share it."

"No need. Beside, if we're on a joint mission or arena fight, we can't waste time looking to see who has it. Besides, you'll probably use it better than I will."

"Really? Thanks, man"

"But I do need to run a scan on it if you don't mind."

"Uh, sure."

Koemai handed him the part and Cain put it on a scanning device for a brief while.

"So do you think we should accept their offer?"

Cain looked down, "I'm not sure. From what the media has been saying about them, they are the most dangerous group of people around. But their representative seemed honest enough. Too honest to be that dangerous."

"Maybe, but remember that looks aren't everything, especially in this business."

"True. I say it like this. If you want to join, then fine. From what he suggested, it would be nothing more than a few extra missions anyway."

"Hm, sure. Why not? I could use the extra money. Will you join up?"

"I haven't decided. I put it this way. I'll only take a Union mission if you need my help in it."

"Okay. No problem."

The scanning device finished and Cain handed the part back to Koemai. "Here. I'm done with it now."

"Alright. Now if I recall, this part has the ability to activated rear cannon weapon without becoming stationary. Hey, I can finally use that laser cannon of mine."

"Another energy weapon? Your fuel won't last too long."

"No sweat. The part can also reduce the amount of energy used in weapons. Oohh, I'm gonna have so much fun with this thing." Koemai dashed up to his AC and opened the hatch. While he did, Cain folded his arms and counted.

"5...4...3...2...1..."

"WHAT?!"

Koemai came out, option part still in hand. "Cain. You are not going to believe this."

"Let me guess. In order to insert it, you have to remove your other optional parts, right?"

"Yeah. Talk about rip-off. Oh, well, it doesn't matter. I'll still be powerful."

Koemai re-entered the cockpit and went to work. While he did, Cain looked back at his computer terminal. An image of the part came up on the screen. Cain clicked a few buttons and did his own work. The screen flashed

System integration: 95% effective.

_I was right. It's just what we needed. Now all that's left is getting another one._

As he continued working, his thoughts drifted to Alia. _She's so strong, so independent. But at that time, she was vulnerable. Why did she get so drunk in the first place? I should...talk to her. But I'll wait until tomorrow._ Cain yawned; _I should get some sleep as well._ He finished his work and shut down the terminal.

"Hey, Koemai. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Huh? Owww! ^@*&^! Yeah, I'll see you later. Son of a &$^$%!"

Cain gave a small smile and left the hanger and went to his room.

Next day...

Cain slowly walked over to the place that was Alia's apartment. He felt nervous again as he made his way there. _Why am I so nervous? I'm just going to see if she's alright._ He stopped in front and rang the bell twice. But no one came to the door. _Guess she's not in._ Cain turned to leave, but coming up behind him was...

"Alia."

Alia looked up at him, somewhat surprised, "Cain. What are you doing here?"

"Oh, umm. I just thought I'd drop by to see if you were alright."

She gave a sidelong glance, "I am thank you." She walked past him and opened her door

"Well then." Cain began to walk off, but she called him back.

"Would you like to come in for awhile?"

He hesitated for a moment, recalling last night's event. But she was intoxicated then. And it would be rude to decline a woman's offer.

"Okay."

She opened the door and let him enter. She motioned to the couch and he sat down. She then disappeared into the kitchen and came out with two cups of tea. She took a seat across form him and sat down. The two sipped in silence for a long while.

"I appreciate your concern. I'm not normally like that."

"I'm listening."

She took another sip, "I just heard from my sister on Mars, Shira. She...got into an accident there."

"Is she a Raven?"

"No. She worked for once of the corporations there though. But it did become the latest target for a Raven. She was injured by one of the explosion there, but beyond that nothing much happened. The Raven was retrieving a datacell from a rival corporation. It did it well. It wasn't equipped with any weapons at all, aside from a single blade."

_A single-blade Raven?__ This guy must have been good._

" Anyway, one of the MT's exploded and she got caught up in it."

"Are her injuries serious?"

"No. Not really. She was treated for third-degree burns though." She began to grip the cup more tightly. "I should have been there."

Cain looked at her, face nearly void of emotion. _What do I tell her? What can I say?_

"What could you have done?"

"What?!"

"This may sound a little harsh, but what could you have done even if you were there?"

Her face began to grow angry, "How dare you..."

"She had a dangerous occupation. Like you do."

"What does her....huh?"

"Remember, she worked for one of the corporations. So it was bound to be attacked by a Raven sooner or later. Even if you were there, the chances are that it would have been attacked again, and more forcefully. Both the Raven and your sister were lucky."

"How...so?"

"Well, Shira only got third-degree burns. And the Raven was only there to steal back a chipset. Plus the fact that it only used a blade. Your sister is extremely lucky. The Raven could have been ordered to do much worse."

She looked into her cup, pondering over his words while he sat merely watching. Then his comm-link went off, but he made no move to answer it.

"Aren't you going to check it?"

"It can wait."

"No, you should check it." She gave a look that said she wouldn't take no for an answer so he checked it. It was a scheduled arena match. A solo match against another Raven.

"You better get going."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. You're right. It could have been far worse. But that doesn't mean I couldn't have helped her. Get going now. You don't want to be late."

He hesitantly opened the door out, but she stopped him.

"T...thank you for listening."

"You're welcome."

"Just one more question. You said that both my sister and the Raven was lucky. How was the Raven lucky?"

"Simple. Had your sister been killed, then the Raven would have to deal with you. He wouldn't have made it far."

Aria smiled, "Thanks."

A half an hour later, Cain entered the Arena, once again with the Glaive AC. Glaive entered the arena to find his opponent already waiting for him.

"Now you die."

The AC he faced was heavily armored. _Really heavily armored._ It was equipped with an energy shield extension as well as a left arm shield, MIRROR. On its right arm, it had a heavy bazooka. Worse yet, it was equipped with an orbiter cannon and the TITAN large missiles.

"I've heard a lot about you, Glaive. You're one of the Hands of God, correct?"

"........"

"Well, since you aren't going to speak, allow me to introduce myself." The AC stomped forward.

"My name is Davis and this is the Apocalypse. The last thing you will see."

Cain muttered inside his AC, "And there was an evening and a morning, a first day."

____________

Meanwhile, Koemai received another mission e-mail, this time from Union. _Man, I'm getting a lot of missions lately. Must be my week._

_Your mission is to destroy a massive MT that has appeared. This MT has firepower far more than any weapon in existence. You must destroy it at all costs!_

_Another one, huh?__ Oh well, better get to work. These guys sure pay a lot more, that's for sure._

Another message came up; _Do__ you wish an escort?_

Koemai almost said no, but he remembered it took two Ravens to defeat the first one. _I guess a little help, even with the Intensify part. But Cain is out in the arena, and Diana has a mission of her own. Hey, I know. I'll ask Keini. He's good._ Koemai type in the message and awaited a reply. Almost immediately it came.

"Sure thing."

_Escort approved._


	9. Deadly Adversaries

Disclaimer: Same as before.

Chap. 8

BOOM!!!!! KABOOOMMMMM!!!!!!!!!

Glaive was continually dodging the heavy fire Apocalypse was hurling at him. The second the match started, he started firing his bazooka and Glaive had to retreat and hope for an opening. Unfortunately, no such open came and Glaive nearly met his end when one of the shells nearly blasted his head off. And they were still coming. _This guy just doesn't let up!_ Apocalypse then opened his orbiter cannon and fired three orbit pods around Glaive. The pods began shooting energy beams at him and Glaive had to retreat again. As Glaive flew to avoid the laser fire, Apocalypse opened two new pods on his back. _What the...? He's got an EO too?_ More energy fire came and Glaive was at a major disadvantage. Worse yet, Apocalypse rearmed his bazooka again and Glaive now had to deal with three types of fire.

Meanwhile, Interceptor was dropped off in the wasteland to face the massive MT. Accompanying him was Dagger, a middleweight AC with hover legs and armed with a laser rifle and energy throwing blade. On its back was a set of missile pods.

"So Interceptor, you ready?"

"I was born ready." Inside Koemai activated the OP-INTENSIFY unit and set the AC in battle mode. "Time to kick butt."

It was then that the MT made its way across the horizon. _Whoa! That thing is huge._

_That's the target. We're still unsure of its full potential. Be careful!_

Both AC's split up on both sides. The MT did nothing aside from hovering around. Suddenly, four projectiles flew out. They were confused at first, but then Dagger called out.

"Look out! Those are missile pods!"

As he shouted the warning, swarms of missiles flew out at them. They boosted away, but were hit by a few of the missiles. To make it worse, it was launching another set of missile pods.

"What the...? I don't believe this!"

Both AC's retreated and hid behind the giant derelict spaceship there.

"Got any plans?"

"Yeah. One of us needs to draw its fire while the other attacks. I'll draw it out since my AC is faster and your weapons are stronger."

"Right. Just be careful. The last thing I need is Diana killing me for letting you die."

"On the positive side, I won't die alone. Let's do this!"

Dagger flew out and just as planed, the MT attacked him. At the same time, Interceptor flew out and locked on. The lock came faster than expected.

"Alright. This optional part really works. Eat hot death!"

Interceptor fired and its missiles pummeled the AC. To his surprise, damage appeared to show on the MT. Interceptor continued his rain of fire and the MT stopped.

"Alright, we did it!"

"Wait a minute. Look."

The MT started to shift and break apart. No, it was splitting in two! Another MT detached and flew in the air.

"Two of them!"

The flying MT started firing rounds of grenades at Interceptor, causing him to fly back. Meanwhile, the first MT continued firing missile pods at Dagger. Dagger was beginning to run out of places to dodge while Interceptor was getting pummeled. Three of the grenades hit him full force and Interceptor was knocked aside. Interceptor arose and the flying MT locked onto him again. Suddenly, Dagger flew up to him.

"We have to abort. We can't fight these guys like this."

Interceptor remained quiet for a moment.

"Alright. But my system has been fried. I can't move."

Dagger moved closer, "Get in then."

The cockpits opened and Koemai jumped out of his smoking AC with the option part in hand. He entered Dagger and Dagger flew off. The two MT's were still firing on them. Keini had to try hard not to get to badly hit by the swarms of grenades and missiles.

Keini looked at the radar, "I'm not sure if we'll be able to escape."

"Don't worry. I left them a parting gift." Koemai took a squeeze button out of his pocket. "Goodbye, Interceptor." He squeezed the trigger.

Behind them, Interceptor began to glow in red and the MTs started to pass it. The machine suddenly exploded and the explosion hit both MTs. They weren't damaged, but it was enough to slow them down while Dagger flew away.

"Those two are definitely on my list."

Arena...

Glaive was still flying around avoiding the fire from Apocalypse. Doesn't this guy run out of ammo? Glaive decided that enough was enough and turn in to attack. He dodged through the fire Apocalypse was sending out and fired a grenade. _It hit, but Apocalypse wasn't damaged. I thought so._ Glaive flew past him, hoping to hit him while he was turning around. But Apocalypse was also equipped with a booster extension, allowing him to make a quick turn and continue to fire. Glaive was cornered and the AC was coming at him.

"Hahahaha!!!!! Surrender now! You can't beat me. I am the Apocalypse!"

"Oh ye of little faith. Why did you give way to doubt?"

"Huh?

Suddenly, Glaive over-boosted and flew straight at Apocalypse. He was caught of guard as Glaive fired a grenade at Apocalypse at near point blank range. Apocalypse reeled back, shocked by the power, but still in the fight. Aiming his bazooka again, he pulled the trigger, but the bazooka exploded in on itself. Glaive had hit it in his attack, disabling it. Apocalypse looked back at Glaive, who was coming at him again. Quickly, he raised his shield and blocked a slash. Glaive backed away, but suddenly rushed forward again in another assault. Again it was blocked, but the shield's power was lower and Apocalypse backed away. He deactivated the shield and re-opened the EO. The beams fired and Glaive flew back again. The EO then retracted again and Apocalypse armed the large missiles. Glaive waited and the missile fired, flying at him slowly. Glaive then over-boosted again, dodging the projectile and flying at him again. Apocalypse re-activated his EO again and Glaive twisted away from the beams. Unknown to him, the large missile was still flying around and closing in on him. By the time he saw it, he raised his right arm in defense and the missile exploded, destroying the entire right arm. Glaive flew back again, now without a grenade launcher. He looked up as another large missile flew at him. _That will destroy me for sure. Unless.... I have to do this right._

Glaive flew at Apocalypse, just like last time. And just like last time, the missile followed.

"Foolish mortal. You didn't learn from the last time?"

The EO's ejected out again and fired, but Glaive didn't turn to avoid them. Rather he flew through them. Glaive's blade came out and he appeared to look like he would slash down, but he suddenly jumped over behind him. Apocalypse wondered why, but then he saw. The large missile was still coming and it exploded in his face. Apocalypse reeled, fairly damaged now. It took the pilot awhile to recover and he used his extensions to turn to Glaive. But he saw another shock; Glaive was coming at him again, blade ignited in the air. Apocalypse could only watch as Glaive rushed him at full force, knocking him down to the ground. Then the white-blue blade slashed down and....stopped right in front of him.

"Huh? What are you waiting for? Finish it!"

".........." Glaive backed away and began to walk away.

"Finish it! I would have shown you no mercy."

"I'll remember that next time."

Winner: AC Glaive.


	10. NineBall

Disclaimer: Same as usual. 

Chap. 10

Glaive returned to the hanger and Cain had the repairs working on it. Fortunately, arena battles pay for repairs in advance so there was no need about worrying about debt. Still, it was a hard-fought battle and it would take time to repair Glaive. Cain looked over to and found Interceptor gone. _He's using Interceptor? If he's on a mission with Interceptor, then it must be against a single large target. What is he blowing up now?_ Just then, Koemai stumbled into the hanger.

"Koemai? What happened? Where's Interceptor?"

"In short, I got beat up."

Koemai explained the battle, the massive MT, and the fact that he had to self detonate Interceptor in order to escape with Dagger.

"Sounds like you had a rougher day than me. How's Keini?"

"He's alright. His Dagger got away with some damages, but it's not much."

"And the MT?"

"MT's. They're still active and roaming around."

Where are they from anyway?"

"According to the mission, it was sent by the Controller. But it is unknown as to why. I also found out something else. It's heading here."

"The Cortex?"

"No, this entire city. And I'm guessing it's not to say hi."

"And its firepower is that destructive?"

"Yep. But that's not a problem. I still have my intensify part. I'll just use Darkhand and you and I can destroy him."

"Good plan, except for one problem." Cain pointed to Glaive and Koemai saw the damage it was in. "What the...? What happened?"

Cain told him about his battle with Apocalypse. Koemai scratched his head as he looked at the damage Glaive was in.

"Well, so much for that plan. Wait, why don't you use one of the others?"

"I could, but without my signature AC, we won't be able fight at maximum power. And if what you're saying true, we need all the power we can get."

"So what do you suggest? Do we call for the aid of other Ravens?"

Cain turned around and stayed quiet. Koemai looked at him strangely before Cain turned back at him.

"No need. Come with me."

Koemai continued his gaze. _What's wrong with him? He's acting a little strange. Stranger than normal._ Cain walked to a deck underneath Koemai's ACs. There, a computer terminal awaited them. Cain activated it and Koemai stood behind him.

_Please enter code:_

Cain typed it in.

_9-B: Seraphim._

A hatch opened in the ground and Cain walked in. Koemai followed and was lead into a immense chamber. There were several massive crates before them. Koemai looked further and saw several papers and blueprints strewn about on the tables nearby.

"Cain, what is all of this?"

"Koemai, it's time I told you a little story. Have you ever heard of Nine-Ball?"

"The legendary Raven? Who hasn't? According to the legend, he was the most powerful Raven ever. Legend also says..."

"It's not a legend. Nine-Ball actually existed."

"What? How do you know?"

"Here's what I know. Nine-Ball existed a hundred years ago. His power and skill was unrivaled. He had a 100% success rate on his missions and other Ravens feared him. At the time, Arenas didn't exist but they still feared encountering him on a mission. He would destroy any and all that stood in his way."

"He sounds like my kind off guy."

"But another Raven did encounter him and survive. And when the Raven completed his mission, the world at the time changed. Different corporations arose and began the initial stages of arena battle. Then he reappeared again. Nine-Ball resurfaced as a deadly force once again. But then another skilled Raven arose. This guy wasn't afraid of Nine-Ball. In fact, he had a vendetta against him and was hunting him down. He found out that Nine-Ball was more than a skilled Raven. He was actually a computer program that emulated a Raven. Because of this, he was highly skilled, but that didn't stop the other Raven. He continued on and confronted him, but never truly defeated him. Then he found Nine-Ball's true form, a monstrous AC with power beyond anything that was known. They battled and the Raven defeated him, under the narrowest of margins. It's unknown whether the Raven itself had survived, but ever since then, it was always considered a myth."

"But you believe otherwise?"

"20 years ago, a Raven confronted a powerful Raven. Despite the fact that it was an old model AC, this AC destroyed two Ravens and almost defeated a third. According to the description it was the exact same design as Nine-Ball. Then the Raven met Nine Ball again in an area called the Lost Field in his ultimate form. They fought and Nine-Ball was defeated again, but the other Raven died in the fight from severe injuries. When I linked the stories together, I discovered that the only reason these Ravens defeated him was because they were Plus Ravens. And even then, he was almost too much."

"Plus Ravens? Oh, I've heard of those. The pilots were given upgrades to their bodies and that gave them enhanced abilities as well as their AC's. But they were outlawed because of the way the pilots were operated on because of their defeats and near deaths."

"That is true. But there is a supplement for it. The Op-Intensify part that you acquired grants a pilot the same abilities and thus a Raven plus is no longer needed. But it's a rare part to get."

"Okay, I understand all of that. But what does this have to do with these crates?"

"I was able to study and discover the components of Nine-Ball. The government tried to keep it secret, but I was able to find out about it. Anyway, I used some of my funding to create these."

Cain pushes a button and some of the crates opened. Koemai looks at what is inside.

"Weapons? Parts? I've never seen parts like these before."

"I created them myself. Using the plans from Nine-Ball, I created these new components. I specifically designed it for our AC's, Glaive and Darkhand. These are yours."

"Oooh. New toys."

"This is the XRX-5R quad-energy machine gun. This weapon shoots four bullets at the same time. Each chamber is loaded with 1000 bullets each just like a regular machine gun. But what makes this one different is that it has its own mini generator so that it doesn't drain your own."

"Cool."

"This here is an inside vulcan weapon. You can fit them into the shoulders. They are capable of taking out several MT's in a few rounds. And this..."

He points to a massive mechanism that looks like gigantic boosters.

"This is the ZOLTAR-BSTL. It is to be equipped on the back of the AC."

"It looks heavy."

"It is. But that won't be the case. This part is a hover part, booster, and weapon system. It uses the same principle as the hovercraft legs. This will keep your AC afloat for as long as you want. The booster power is the same as an AC's over-boost, so you can imagine what this thing's OB would possibly be like. On top of that, this too has its own generator, allowing you to stay airborne for a much greater time. It is also equipped with an dual laser cannon with almost the same amount of power as a linear cannon as well as a section to hold your Karasawa in the slim chance that you need one. All of these parts added to your AC will give you incredible power."

"Alright. Those MT's won't stand a chance. When do I get to use these?"

"They're already set up and ready. But there is a catch. In order for all of these to function, Op-Intensify must be activated. Without it, these won't work. And I don't recommend you use these often. They are expensive to maintain."

"I have two questions. First, where did you get the money and resources to make these?"

"From our battles. Surely you don't think I needed that much to keep my AC's repaired. As for the resources, I salvage part that where left out after our battles."

"Oh. That's why it took you so long to get the extra AC's. Now question two, where did you get the idea for these?"

"Well, even with the Nine-Ball design, I couldn't think of how to use it on a conventional AC. Then I started watching TV and I saw an anime called Gundam Wing. I used it as inspiration and managed to use the Nine-Ball design into components instead of a whole unit."

"You watch TV?"

"Funny. Anyway, are you ready to try this?"

"Cain, I was born ready."

"Oh, one more thing. You'll have to wear this." Cain opens a closet and show Koemai a black flight-suit and helmet.

"Not bad. But why do you want me to wear it?"

The ZOLTAR-BSTL normal speed is at over-boost level. Knowing you, you'll want to see how fast it really goes by over-boosting it. That is were this suit comes in. Do you really think your body can withstand the speed this thing will go?"

"Good point. Hey, what about you?"

"I have my own components, but I can't use them because I don't have an Op-Intensify part.   So it's up to you. Remember, these parts are only copies based on Nine-Ball's parts, so you won't be as powerful as he was. But these will make you stronger than a normal Raven, even a plus. And I haven't totally fielded tested them yet, so if there are any problems, just jettison them and get out."

"Right."

Above, Darkhand shifted backward and was refitted with the parts. The result was a massive monstrosity of metal and weapons. Koemai jumped inside and turned on the switch inside. Immediately, the alarm rang signaling that the AC was overweight. Ignoring it. he activated the Intensify option part. Suddenly, lights turned on inside his helmet and a message came up.

_Intensify activated. Switching to insane mode._

"Insane mode? I like the sound of that." He looked into the screen. "Time for payback. Courtesy of the dark hand of vengeance."

The extra boosters ignited and Darkhand launched from the hanger. The power of the boosters caused the AC to fly at tremendous speed and it seconds, it was gone. Cain watched him fly off.

_I better get going just in case_, he thought as he headed for his Fenrir AC. But even as he did, he knew that it may not be necessary.

(Author's note: Yeah I know it seems a little far-fetched. But haven't you ever wondered what it would be to use Nine-Ball's parts. When I fought against him in Armored Core, Armored Core: Master of the Arena, and Armored Core 2: Another Age, I've always wondered that. I went even as far as to imagine that his parts were somewhere in the game. No such luck there. Anyway, what can't be done in the game will be used in this fanfic. You'll love it.)


	11. Ravens of a feather

Disclaimer: Do I really have to say it?

Chap. 11

Over the plains just outside of the city, the two MT's, now jointed back together again, slowly made its way toward the city. But just then, a streak flew out, flying at high speed straight toward the MT. Darkhand was flying straight at the MT. With its newly equipped parts, it covered over the ground quickly. Koemai saw the target. 

"So far, so good. Let's see what this thing can really do."

Darkhand activated its over-boost and four extra boosters opened up and ignited. The speed was incredible as it tore up the ground underneath. Koemai was pressed against his seat and in seconds, he reached the MT. The MT launched its missile pods once again. But none of them made contact due to the intense speed.

"Man, what a rush! Now what should I use first?"

The shoulders opened and Darkhand fired from its vulcan guns. The MT showed slight damage and it split up again.

_Good. Just what I wanted. Let's see what this gun can do._

Darkhand pointed the machine gun at the flying MT and opened fire. A hail of energy bullets shredded through the flying MT. The MT fired its grenades, but Darkhand flew aside at high speed, still shooting at the MT. The MT was getting demolished, but from behind, the first MT fired its missiles. Darkhand was hit, but still active.

"I'll get to you later, after I take care of your friend."

Darkhand's continually fire was too much for the flying MT and it suddenly exploded and plummeted into the ground and exploded further. Darkhand then turned to the first MT, its visor eyes glowing wickedly.

"Next."

The MT fired its missiles once again, but they couldn't hit Darkhand as he swooped away once again. Darkhand fired his machine gun again, but the MT was more heavily armored than the flying one and it fired energy bolts at him. Darkhand was damaged and it flew back to fire again, only to find out that he was out of ammo. _Whoa, that was fast._ The MT then fired a combination of both the energy blasts and missile pods, destroying the entire area in the process.

"Now what do I do? I'm out of ammo" Then he remembered. "Oh, yeah. The laser cannon weapon."

Darkhand landed on the ground and the boosters ejected two extensions and folded it frontward. Koemai's helmet lit up again with a target marker. The extensions charged and electricity surrounded the entire AC. The MT floated toward him as he locked on.

"Payback's a b***h."

Two massive beams of pure energy flew out, pushing Darkhand back and blasting straight through the MT. It seemed to stop for a moment before exploding into pieces. Koemai laughed hysterically.

"SUCKER!!!!!!!!!!!HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Behind him, Fenrir approached. As it did, its pilot thought to himself.

_Great.__ I created a monster._

Hanger...

Darkhand was returned to its place and the extra parts where detached and returned to its hidden chamber. Koemai came out, still laughing and Cain came up to him.

"Did you see that? One shot overkill! That was kewl!"

"I'm glad you're enjoying it. But you should know that you can't use this system all the time."

"Huh? Why not?"

"Well for starters, such weapons are not good to use on a regular basis. I checked your AC and there were signs of overheat. Using it too much will damage Darkhand. Then there's the fact that since these parts don't exist, we don't want to attract the wrong attention."

"Aww, I was having so much fun with them."

"Don't worry. You'll be able to use it when you want, but save it for when it is necessary."

"All alright. But how come you won't try yours?"

"As I said, I don't have an Op-Intensify part. That piece is the central unit for the parts to work."

"Are you sure you don't want to borrow mine?"

"Don't worry. I've worked on a backup plan for that. Remember when I scanned the part. Well, I've found a way to copy the design. It won't be like yours, but it should be as effective."

"Alright. I can't wait to see what yours looks like. Hey, I just thought. What if we both use it at the same time? Can you imagine? We may have to change our names from the Hands of God to God himself."

"Let's not get carried away." A beep came up on his com again. "I'll be right back." Cain walked away and disappeared into his quarters. Just then, Diana came in.

"Koemai, I just heard what happened. Are you alright?"

"Of course. Your brother got me out of there and I went back and destroyed them."

"What? By yourself.? But how?"

Koemai grinned, "Well, you know me. When they're on the list, they get destroyed."

Diana put her hands on his chest, "Well, nice to see you in a good mood. How about we do something tonight?"

Koemai gripped her arms, "What did you have in mind?"

"Hello?"

The two of them turned toward the hanger door to see Alia come in.

"Oh, hey Alia?"

Diana turned to him, "That's Alia?" She examined the redhead and was speechless. Alia asked, "Is Cain around here?"

Koemai answered her, "He's in his quarters."

"Thank you." With that, Alia walked over to his door. At this time, Diana regained her voice. "Whoa. Talk about hitting the jackpot."

Meanwhile, Cain was examining the message. His copied Op-Intensify part showed up. _Replication completed.__ Optional part 75% efficient. 75 percent. Well that's enough to make Glaive a plus and start the system. But for how long?_

"Cain?"

Cain turned and almost froze when he saw Alia standing by the door.

"Alia. Hello. What brings you here?"

"Well...I just wanted to again say thanks. I really appreciated your help."

"You're welcome."

"And....I....I wanted to apologize. You know.....about that night."

"You don't have to apologize. You had a hard time that night. Just next time, try not to drink so much. It's dangerous."

"Danger is a job occupation for a Raven. And....that wasn't what I was apologizing for."

"Oh. What do you mean?"

She hesitated, "About.....trying.....to seduce you."

".........."

They stayed in an awkward silence for awhile before he spoke, "It's alright, don't worry about it. You were intoxicated, so you weren't thinking straight."

She gave a quizzical look, "You're very forgiving. And kind. And different from most men. What made you become a Raven? You don't seem the type."

Cain looked away for awhile and his eyes became a little sad.

"My brother."

She noticed his change, "Oh. I'm sorry."

"No, it's alright. My brother was a Raven. One of the best. We looked after each other. I was a little young, but he let me work on his AC as a mechanic. Then, on one of the missions, he faced a powerful Raven and lost. He defeated him, but was too injured himself. After that, I decided to become one myself."

Alia moved toward him, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked."

"Don't worry. I had to tell someone sooner or later. Besides, you told me a bit of you personal life, so I guess this makes us even now."

At that point, he noticed that she was close to him. Very close. About a foot away from him. At that moment, both their com-links beeped. At the same time, Koemai came up to the door.

"Hey Cain, there's a....whoa!" He noticed both of them and gave an amused smirk, "What's going on here?"

Alia and Cain both turned to him. But to his surprise, they didn't back away in embarrassment, although their faces did redden a bit. Rather they gave him cold looks.

"What is it?"

Koemai gave a weird look. _Whoa, tough audience._ "We have a mission." He looked at Alia, "In fact, we all do."

"All of us?"

Koemai nodded, "Yeah. It's a mission issued to all Ravens from Union. They want us in a joint attack."

Diana came in, "Keini is calling me. I've got a mission with him."

"Yeah, we all do. So does this mean we're all going?" Koemai asked.

Alia nodded, "I'm going. I could use the exercise."

Diana also nodded, "Keini did ask for help. No sense in letting him have all the fun."

Koemai smiled, "You know me. Anything for a good fight." He then looked at Cain, "So are you in?"

"What would the Hands of God be without both vengeance and justice? I'm in."

________

An hour later, the five Ravens entered the facility. Koemai in Comferd, Diana in Cloak, Keini in Saber, Alia in Firewave and Cain in Lockheed. Their mission was to destroy as much of it and annihilate the generators inside. They had to enter through separate entrances. 

Inside...

A few MT's that floated around in guard were suddenly shot down. Comferd swooped in one of the rooms and fired in on two MT's and a few beam turrets that were above him.

"Yaaahhhhhuuuueeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Comferd continued his path of destruction, entering nearby rooms and firing at anything. He heard firing in one of the rooms and entered. As soon as he did, two weapons trained on him.

"Comferd? So you showed up after all."

It was Cloak and Saber, both equipped with laser rifles.

"Yeah, now could you point those somewhere else. Like there." He raised his flamethrower and burned an incoming MT behind them. "How did you guys find each other so quickly?"

Saber laughed, "Maybe it's because we're twins."

Cloak grumbled something and then spoke up, "We should move on. Coming?"

"Sure thing, babe. Let's see if we can find the others."

The three AC's flew off, destroying more in their path. Elsewhere, Firewave was making her way toward the generators along with another Raven, but was grounded by heavy resistance. She backed away to a safe distance, but the other Raven wasn't as lucky.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!"

The AC exploded and the laser turret turned and fired on her. She hid behind one of the pillars. The laser fire continued and Firewave jumped out and fired, destroying the gun turrets. She then checked her AP. _2547 AP. This is a lot harder than I thought._ Suddenly, another MT flew out and fired at her. _Damn, I missed one._ Firewave flew back again, taking a few hits. She was about to fire went an energy blast struck it and the MT exploded. Turning, she saw Lockheed enter the room.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah. But my AP is low."

Lockheed moved next to her. "Perhaps you should stay here."

"No way. I've been in tighter spots than this."

"Your call. But perhaps you'd care to join me."

"Is that an invitation?"

"It is."

"Okay. Let's go."

Firewave and Lockheed moved to the next room. Several more MT's awaited then. But the combined power of both Ravens quickly dispatched them. Firewave was starting to spark and smoke, but it was still active. Lockheed almost asked her if she was alright, but kept his mouth shut. It would be no use in trying to convince her to stop and it would only annoy her. They then entered the generator room and saw four generators humming mildly. Together they pointed their weapons and fired, destroying all of the generators in a blaze and completing their mission. But behind them, two more MT's came up and fired. Firewave turned fired and destroyed one with her machine gun, but the other avoided the fire and shot at her, causing her AC to erupt in flames.

"Alia!"

In a snap, Lockheed blasted the second MT, destroying it completely. For a moment, it seemed that Lockheed's eyes glowed red Then Lockheed bent down to Firewave and Cain jumped out of the cockpit. He scrambled up to the cockpit of Firewave and opened it. Alia climbed out and Cain helped her up.

"You okay?"

Alia looked up at him. _Why is he out of his AC? He's putting himself at risk to...help me? Why is he helping me? Why is he so concerned about me?_ Their eyes met amid the smoke and she stood up to face him. Like before they were noticeably close. However, this time, they were a mere inches away from each other. They stayed that way for awhile, until Cain broke eye contact and looked away.

"We.....should go. Our mission is completed."

Cain broke away from her and she looked down at her now destroyed AC. _So it was nothing after all._

"Do you need a lift?"

She turned back to him, "Excuse me?"

"I figure that since your AC is damaged, you could use a ride."

She thought about it briefly, "Sure." She began to move toward him, but she stopped to look at her AC. "If it's not too much trouble, could you carry Firewave with us?"

He looked at her from the side of his head and then looked at the AC. "Okay."

Cain entered his cockpit and Alia followed, seating herself on his lap. His face reddened a bit as the cockpit closed and Lockheed re-activated. Lockheed then ejected his weapons and placed them on Firewave. He then lifted Firewave and slowly walked out. But they were unaware that they were watched by two AC's.

"Did you see that?"

"Yep. My little raven finally found a girl. Sniff. It's just too much."

"Well not quite. What they need is a little push."

"Is that a plan forming in that evil mind of yours?"

"You know me well. But let's get out of here now."


	12. Setup

Disclaimer: Same old, same old

Chap. 12

Everyone has returned to their designated hangers and Cain is working on his AC as usual. Glaive is nearly repaired and Cain notices the scratched blue paint. _Maybe I should change it._ Going to the terminal, Cain enters the paint program and changes it from its usual blue color. The computer gets to work and a giant cover surrounds Glaive. _It'll take at least a day for it to finish._

"Hey Cain. What are you doing?"

"Working."

Koemai shook his head, "Anyway, I have a message for you."

"A message? From whom?"

"I don't know. I found it when I was coming in the hanger."

Cain came down and Koemai handed him the note.

Cain

Meet at the Central Square on 4th Ave/ Central St lamppost at 8:00 alone

We have unfinished business.

Cain gave a questioning face and Koemai stood over him, "Who do you think it could be?"

"I don't know. And I don't understand this 'unfinished business'."

Koemai leant on the ladder, "Does this mean you're going?"

"It's the only way to find out what this is about."

Koemai put his hand on his shoulder, "Don't worry. I'll back you up."

Cain shook his head, "No. It says to come alone and I will." Cain walk to his dorm and grabbed his black trench coat. "I'll let you know when I get back."

"**If **you get back."

"**When** I get back." With that, Cain walked out the door, leaving Koemai with a huge smirk on his face. I didn't think it would be that easy.

____

Central Square

Central Square was in fact a slight reconstruction of the former Times Square of New York. Cain walked there and looked at his watch. _7:50. I'm early._ Cain stood by a lamppost and waited for his visitor. The sound of footsteps approached him and a shadow came toward him. Cain looked and waited for the figure to reach the light. When it did, his face registered a look of shock.

"Alia?"

"Cain?"

"What are you doing here?" they said in unison.

Cain was the first to answer, "I got a note saying to meet someone here."

Alia held up a note, "So did I. Central Square. Lamppost. 8:00."

Cain held his hand out and Alia handed him the note, "What's this? There's some invisible ink here."

He held it up to the light and slowly, more words appeared.

_If you are reading this, then you know_

_There are eighteen credits behind the lamp and a reservation for two at the restaurant across the street_

_Have a good time, you two_

_Koemai__/ Diana_

_P.S. Don't disappoint us._

Cain folded the two notes and Alia said, "We've been set up."

"Yep. I'm going to kill him. For real this time."

They looked at each other for a moment and laughed. They did this for sometime before Alia managed to speak out, "You know, you really don't have to if you don't want to."

Cain shook his head, "They went through a good deal of trouble to do this, so we might as well go along and enjoy it. Besides..." He looked at her, "....I'm in good company."

Alia smiled at the remark and indicated to the restaurant. "Well, shall we?"

He returned the smile, "Lead the way."

___________

 The two of them were seated and having dinner. As they did, they talked about themselves and their lives as Ravens. He spoke about his friendship (However strange) with Koemai. She talked about her family and how she came to Earth from Mars. He wasn't too surprised by that due to her red hair. It's a fact that people that were born on Mars sometimes develop reddish or red hair. She even told him about her sister. She was better now from her injuries and would leave the hospital. 

"Oh really?'

"Yeah. I sent some of my money to help her out. She should be out by tomorrow. My mom will be more than relieved."

"That's good to know."

"So....how about your family?"

Cain stayed quiet for awhile in thought. Alia questioned him further.

"How are your parents?"  
  


"I...don't have any."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I never knew them. The longest I remember back was my brother. Him and me lived alone in an orphanage. But he doesn't remember much about them either. We grew up together in an orphanage and he always looked after me." A small smile came up, "We were obsessed with becoming Ravens. Him because of how they lived by their own rules and me because of being able to pilot Armored Cores. We trained ourselves with MT's, but you know that isn't the same. Then he managed to get his very first core. He called it the Avenger. Other Ravens told him that he was very talented and he was.

"What about you?"

"I never flew the core. When he would come back from missions, I would be there to repair it, in order to save money to be able to by my own core. That's how I know so much about an AC's design. Eventually, he managed to get the money and I got my core, Glaive. I always hoped that we would become the ultimate Raven team, you know, unstoppable. But when I got it, he went on that mission I told you about." He looked up at her, "I believe you know the rest. Oh, I'm sorry. I've been talking too much."

"No, it's fine. It's actually nice to hear you talk more than the usual five-line-maximum."

Cain narrowed his eyes, "Very funny." Nevertheless, he smiled at her. _This is....really nice. I don't remember when I ever had a good time like this._

The two of them continued talking, taking in and enjoying each others company. They left the restaurant early and took a walk outside. They didn't say anything as they walked, but they weren't uncomfortable. The discomfort came when it started to rain. Cain frowned. _Simulated rain._ Normally, this wouldn't bother him. But to have her get wet was another thing. Quickly, they ran toward her house and she rushed to open the door.

"Whoa, where did that come from? That's quite a shower, eh?"

"Quite."

Alia took off her jacket and looked outside. The rain poured hard outside. To her surprise, Cain re-opened the door, "Well I better get home. I had a great night, Alia."

Alia gave him an incredulous look, "Are you serious? It's raining cats and dogs out there. You'll stay here."

Cain froze up, "Are you sure? I don't want to impose."

"You wouldn't. In fact, I'd feel a lot better knowing you are safe. Well, as safe as a Raven can be anyway."

Cain shook his head, "I shouldn't stay here. This is your sanctuary and I shouldn't...."

"Not another word. You are a brave one, but you try to hard to do things. Relax. You can sleep here on the couch. It wouldn't be right for you to reject an offer. It's not honorable."

_What the...? How did...? She's right._ "You're right. I'll stay."

"Good. Now hand me your coat."

Cain slowly took off his coat and handed it to her. As he did, he reached in and his hand brushed against something hard. Opening the coat, he pulled out a long black sheath with designs on it.

"What is that?"

"My sword. When I got Koemai's message, I thought I was being threatened so I brought this along."

"A sword. Why am I not surprised?"

She removed her own jacket and Cain noticed that her shirt was wet as well. Wet enough to show certain revealing body parts. Cain's face flushed and he turned aside.

"You...should change."

She nodded and walked into the bathroom. Cain took a deep breath and relaxed. He moved back over to the window to see if the rain had stopped. Unfortunately, it didn't. Cain frowned. At this rate, he'll have no choice, but to....spend the night here. That thought made him even more nervous. He shook the negative thoughts away. _I'll just have to get by._ He sighed and settled on the couch. As he did, he noticed a small picture on the table nearby. He picked it up and looked at it. It was an image of girls and an adult woman.

"My sister and mother."

Cain looked up to see Alia had come out of the bathroom. Luckily for him, she was wearing a long T-shirt and sweatpants. Draped over her arm was another pair of sweatpants.

"Here. These are for you." She handed him the pants. "Sorry, but I don't have any shirts your size."

He took the pants, "That's okay. My shirt wasn't wet too much. Thank you."

She nodded and took the picture out of his hands and gazed at it. "I miss them sometimes."

"Oh. Why don't you visit them?"

Alia put the picture down, "I don't know. Never really thought about it much."

Cain remained quiet for awhile as they looked at each other.

"I better change. You should get some rest."

Alia nodded, "Yes. Good night, Cain."

Cain entered the bathroom, "Good night, Alia."

Alia went into her bedroom and shut the door. She leaned on the door and took a deep breath. She's had boyfriends before, but he was different. Most men she knew would have tried to put the moves on her, but not him. He remained polite and kind. He even offered to leave, despite the rain. _What was he thinking?_ She sat down on the bed and lay back, looking at the ceiling. He was also attracting her somewhat. Like he was magnetic. Was it his personality, or perhaps his attitude. Or maybe even his body. As these thoughts flooded her mind, she then felt small movement. It was barely noticeable, but since it was quiet, she heard it. Standing up, she opened the door and walked out. There, Cain was on the floor doing push-ups. He was wearing the sweatpants she gave him, but his shirt was off. She silently watched as he continued his exercise. _Wow, I didn't know he was that built._ She automatically bit her lip and stopped when she realized what she was doing. Get a hold of yourself, girl. His head suddenly snapped up and he stopped. Almost too quickly, he grabbed his shirt and slipped it on.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Did I wake you?"

She smiled at his shyness when she noticed how quickly he put his shirt on. "No. I just wanted to see if you were alright."

"Oh, yes. These pants fit me well. Thank you."

"Well that's good. Now I'll know what size you are next time you are here."

She smiled again and he blushed at how warmly she smiled. Even if it was at his expense. 

"Well, good night."

"Oh, yeah. Good night."

She stood there for some time, staring at him and conflicting with her own emotions.  Right then she imagined herself closer to him. A lot closer. _No, I shouldn't._ Slowly, she turned, walked into her room and closed the door. He looked at her strangely before settling in the couch. Turning the lights out, he closed his eyes. No sooner than he, he started thinking about Alia. _She's very nice and hospitable. I believe I owe her something. And I may know what._ He slightly shook his head. _What am I thinking? I've been hanging around Koemai and Diana too much._ He was half-way asleep thinking about her, so he didn't hear the sounds of motion coming toward him. When he did, his eyes re-opened. There, in front of him, was Alia sitting on the coffee table in front of him. Her eyes were faintly seen, but it was enough to see a little anxiety in them. He sat up to her 

"I couldn't sleep. Not just yet."

"Something wrong?"

Alia didn't say any more as she quickly moved to him and kissed him, her lips lightly brushing against his. He was surprised by the action and she moved away, noting his surprise. She also noticed something else. The shock in his eyes and the look they held. _Oh my god. He's never kissed a woman before._

"Oh, I'm sorry. I just thought....I didn't know. I should go."

She started to rise when he grabbed her arm, stopping her. He stood up to her with a meek expression on his face.

"No, I'm sorry. I didn't do it right, did I?"

Pulling her toward him, he returned the kiss. Now she was the surprised one as he did, but she began to melt into it. Letting go of her arm, he wrapped both arms around her, bringing her directly to him. In return, she lifted her arms and put them around his neck, pulling his head to hers. The kiss became more intense, both of them pulling each other even closer. They held each other like that for some time before they pulled away from each other, eyes glazed and faces smiling.

"How was that?"

"Mmmmmm. Are you sure that was your first time?"

"How did you know?"

"I could tell." She put her arms down and he put his down, "Good night."

"Sure. Good night."

She started back to her room, but she felt that magnetism again. She turned back and sat on the couch, pulling him down as well. They embraced and she kissed him again, more passionately this time. He fully melted into it again and returned it, with equal fervor. She wanted more of him. A lot more. She gently nudged him down on the couch and was perched on top of him, lips still connected. She didn't understand what it was about him that was drawing her, but she liked it. But then it hit her. _If he never kissed a girl, then he surely never...._ Abruptly, she stopped and looked at his eyes. Eyes that were staring back at her. She saw excitement and anxiety, but also..._fear?_ He wanted this, but she realized that he wasn't ready for it. She was stuck. _What should she do?_ Then she remembered when she was drunk and he was in the same situation. She quietly closed her eyes and simply lay down on him, still embraced but not like before. They were...comfortable. He let out a small smile and just held her and they went to sleep, content in the warmth of just being in each others arms as the cold rain poured outside.

Next day...

Cain walked into the hanger to check on his AC. As he did, the cockpit of Darkhand opened and out came a smiling Koemai.

"Alright. How was your date?"

Cain looked up at him, "I can't believe you set me up like that." He stopped briefly. "But it was nice."

Koemai smiled even more, "So, details, details."

"Well, we had dinner. After that, we had a little walk. It started raining, so..." He hesitated, knowing full well how his friend would react, "...I spent the night at her house."

"Alright! You are the man! You scored!"

"No I didn't."

"Huh?"

"I didn't have sex with her, so get the thought out of your head."

Koemai stared at him, mouth wide opened, "You...didn't? You're kidding me, right? Not even close?"

"............"

Koemai slumped back, "I take it back. You're just not human. How can you spend a night with a beautiful woman and not do it. It's not...natural." He grabbed the rail, "Did you at least kiss her?"

"Yes."

"Oh. Well for you, that's a step up. Not much, but it'll get me through the day. You're something else."

Both Cain's and Koemai's com-links beeped and they checked it. Koemai read his, "A Raven battle. I've got a fight to go to." He looked over to Cain, "What about you?"

Cain looked up, "It's nothing. A battle of my own."

Koemai shrugged, "Oh well, let's get going."

Cain thought to himself, _He didn't check his opponent. He never checks his opponent._

Koemai walked up and was about to switch to his Comferd when Cain stopped him.

"Use Darkhand."

"Huh? What for? I can fight just as well in Comferd."

Cain repeated, "Use Darkhand. Trust me."

Koemai gave him a strange look, "Okay." He reverted back to his Darkhand AC and entered. Before the hatch closed, he called out.

"Good luck, Cain."

The parking lot...

Darkhand entered the arena and set himself for battle. _My signature stage.__ The guy won't know what hit him._

FIGHT

Darkhand swooped in search of his opponent when a fireball suddenly flew out of nowhere. Quickly, he dodged it and found its source. It was a white AC, but the design and the parts were identical to...

"Glaive?"

"I guess you won't be able to save me for last, Darkhand."

"You're my opponent?"

"Yes."

Koemai looked a little shocked. _So that was why he wanted me to take Darkhand. To even the odds._ A small smile crept up his face.

"Well, I won't fight you last, but I'm afraid I'll have to kick you @$$ all over the place, my friend."

"We shall see which will prevail. Vengeance or justice."

"Enough talk!"

The two AC's activated their OB's and charged at each other. The Hands of God will now fight to see which held the stronger grip.

AN: So what did you think? Please let me know. Next battle: Darkhand vs. Glaive! A show you can not miss!


	13. Wrath

Disclaimer: Same as before

Chap. 13

_Global Cortex_

Aria was in her garage sitting by her signature core, Firewave. However, if anyone was close enough, they would have heard her actually speaking quietly to her machine.

"It was nice. He was nice. No, he was a complete gentleman. I never met anyone like him. No, I didn't...well I did, kind of. It wasn't like that. I feel...a connection with him. Would you stop asking that? I wanted to, I mean really wanted to, but he wasn't ready for it. I don't know, it's a feeling. I don't know if I'll see him again. Well, he is a Raven after all. You're right, I shouldn't think like that. Do you think he'll want to see me again? Thank you."

"Hiya, up there!"

Aria turned around and looked down to the direction of the voice. It was Diana.

"Hello. Can I help you?"

"Don't you remember me? I'm Diana."

Aria slid down the ladder, "I remember your face, but I didn't get your name before. So you're Diana?"

"Yep, the one and only. Pilot of AC Cloak."

"You were the one who set us up. May I ask why?"

"Oh, I didn't mean to offend you or anything. But you're the first person I've seen Cain even remotely take an interest of. And after that little scene on that joint mission, well, I just couldn't help myself."

"On the mission?"

"Oh you know. When he came to your aid and helped you out of your AC, putting himself in danger like that to help you."

Aria's face began to redden, "You...saw that?"

"Yep. It was like something out of a fairy tale. The noble knight comes to the aid of his beloved princess. And the way Glaive carried your Firewave. Oh, I almost broke into tears over that."

Aria began to regain some control, "He is a strange man. He would have done the same for his partner."

Diana nodded, "That is true, which is why in he did it with you means something." Diana smirked, "Am I right?"

"I...don't know. Who are you to him? Are you...his girlfriend?"

Diana laughed aloud, "Hahahahahaha!!!! That's a good one. I almost wish that were true. No, I date his partner, Koemai. The other name on the letter."

"Oh, now it makes sense."

"Well, now that that's out of the way, you have to tell me how your date with him went."

"Why don't you ask Koemai? I'm sure he's asked Cain and knows what happened by now."

"Yeah, but he's gone on an arena battle. Both of them actually. Besides, it's a lot better to hear it from a woman's viewpoint."

Aria smiled as she thought for a moment before nodding, "Okay."

_The garage arena..._

HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Both AC's rammed into each other with great force, their blades clashed and sparking with energy. After several seconds, the AC's backed away and Darkhand immediately began firing. Glaive had to retreat. _Had to be in his stage, didn't it?_ Darkhand's continued his barrage of energy blasts.

"Forget it, Glaive. In this place, I am the master and I MAKE THE RULES!!!!!!!"

Darkhand fired another blast, but Glaive managed to duck behind one of the pillars and fire a grenade shot. Darkhand barely avoided the deadly fireball and now Glaive was coming at him. _Great.__ How did that happen_? Glaive continued to rain fire down at Darkhand, but Darkhand wasn't out yet. Using the OB, he flew past Glaive and spun around. Locked on, he fired a shower of energy beams, forcing Glaive to retreat once again. Darkhand began to chase him again as he continued his relentless assault. A few of the beams hit Glaive, damaging his armor. Glaive suddenly shot himself forward straight at Darkhand and fired. Darkhand was caught off guard, but was even more surprised when he saw that Glaive didn't fire at him, but rather at the power panel on the wall. The panel exploded and the lights flashed briefly before dimming out. Darkhand didn't understand why Glaive did that, but as he looked around, he couldn't find Glaive anywhere. 

"What the...? Where is he?"

Suddenly, a white-blue glow emerged and Glaive came at Darkhand full speed, slashing him across the core. _Figures that he couldn't find me.__ He never uses his radar._ Darkhand fired back, but missed due to the fact that Glaive was too close. Glaive slashed out again and nicked the Karasawa rifle. Darkhand retreated, his weapon damaged and unable to use. He would have to rely on his blade. He just realized that this stage may work more to Glaive's advantage than his. _I...don't have a choice._ Darkhand detached all of his weapons except for his blade. As he predicted, Glaive suddenly stopped his attack and detached his grenade and ignited his own blade. If he could have seen Cain's face, he could be sure it had a smile on it. But that thought disappeared when Glaive charge and struck Darkhand. However, the damage was minimal and Darkhand struck back, his blade slashing across Glaive's core. Glaive retreated back and Darkhand came in a fury of slashes and swipes. Glaive blocked and parried the blows, but made no move to fight back.

"What's the matter, Glaive? Too much for you?"

Glaive didn't respond as he deflected another two slashes. Darkhand came, even harder.

"What are you waiting for? Fight me!"

Darkhand made another slash and suddenly Glaive swung upward, clashing with shattering blow that threatens to take off Darkhand's arm. Fortunately, the arm held in place, although it did rattle a bit. Darkhand backed away and so did Glaive. Both pilots were breathing heavily, but were about to resume their battle when a loud explosion interrupted them. A giant hole had been blown open and a swarm of MT's dropped in and began firing on the two Ravens. Glaive and Darkhand swooped back behind the pillars.

"Who are these guys?" Glaive wondered aloud. Privately, he thought, _Those MT's have the Controller's insignia on them._

Darkhand on the other hand, was enraged, "How dare they interrupt my match!"

Glaive looked at his partner/opponent. _Uh, oh._ It was a well known fact that if there was one thing you didn't want to do to him was interrupt a match.

Darkhand's eyes glow angrily, as though it conveyed the anger of the pilot.

Inside, Koemai opened a CD track and inserted a CD. Loud music filled the cockpit and Darkhand went into a berserker rage on the invading MT's. The lyrics of the song filled his ears as he brutally slashed down on the MT.

_Let the bodies hit the......FLOOR!!!!!!_

_Let the bodies hit the floor!_

_Let the bodies hit the floor!_

_Let the bodies hit the floor!_

_Let the bodies hit the floor!_

_Let the bodies hit the......FLOOR!!!!!_

Darkhand was merciless as his single blade massacre creamed everything in front off him. Meanwhile Glaive fought his own share of MT's. As he did, he was astonished by his friend's wrath until he noticed the sparks emitting from the joint of the left arm. That arm won't last long. Darkhand continued fighting, blinded by his anger and unaware of the damage. All he cared about was destruction as his blade brought havoc on the MT's. But another MT landed, more heavily armed. Glaive shot toward.

"Darkhand, look out!"

Darkhand then became aware of the threat, but could do nothing as the MT fired its laser cannon.

"No!"

The beam hit Darkhand dead on, but that didn't stop the enraged Raven as he blasted toward the MT and in one strike, impaled it with his blade. The MT exploded and crumbled to the ground, taking the AC's arm with it. Then Darkhand itself knelt to the ground, badly damaged. Glaive came toward him.

"Darkhand, come in. Darkhand? Koemai, respond!"

"Ha! Never mess with the dark hand vengeance."

"This may sound like a silly question, but are you alright over there?"

"Never better. Ughhh. But I'm a little beat up over here. I'm going to need help."

"Alright, I'm on my way." Glaive stumbled toward his comrade, noting the various destroyed MTs, "You are truly a berserker, you know that. You played that song again, didn't you?"

"Well, of course. They deserved it." His tone turned serious, "Why did those guys attack us? Who were they?"

"They were from the Controller. And as for why they attacked us, your guess is as good as mine." 

Looking back at the hole, Cain shook his head. _But I doubt we've seen the last of them._

So what do you think? I just had to use that song in this to fully describe what goes on in Koemai's head when he fights. Yeah, he's a real psycho.


	14. Double date

Disclaimer: You know the drill

Chap 14

Cain and Koemai returned to the hanger to find both Diana and Aria waiting for them. Koemai came out first.

"Hey, what is this?"

Diana was grinning, trying to keep herself from giggling. "What did Cain tell you about their date?" She motioned to Aria.

Koemai cracked a smile, "Not much. I managed to get him to tell me that it was a nice date and that he kissed her."

She was beginning to giggle, "So he didn't tell you the whole thing?"

"What whole thing?"

It was at that moment the Cain came down from his AC. He immediately froze upon seeing Aria. She saw him and did the same. Both Diana and Koemai laughed at this.

Koemai managed to stop laughing for a moment, "Come on babe. Don't leave me in suspense. What happened?"

Cain managed to blink, but he kept his stare. She saw what his eyes said. _You told her._

Aria answered him the same way. _I'm sorry. She dragged it out._

He nodded and Koemai was confused by their silent exchange, but he got the point.

"Oh, I see. You lucky dog, you did..."

"No."

"Huh?"

Cain looked down, "We slept together, but not in the way you think."

Diana nodded, "Yep. He just slept with her."

Koemai shook his head, "You mean...as in sleep _sleep_? Like nothing really happened?"

A slight blush came across his face and he nodded.

"I don't believe it! I just don't get you! You.....her....just aren't human."

Diana smiled, "What are you talking about? It sounds romantic. Which reminds me..." She took Koemai's arm, "We were going to go out tonight and wondered if you two would like to join us."

Cain looked up at Aria to see if she would accept. _What are you waiting for? Ask her!_

"Would you like to come?"

Aria suddenly turned away and for a moment, he thought she rejected it.

"Diana, what time?"

Diana answered her, "7:30."

Aria nodded and moved to Cain. He began to step back a bit, but she caught up to him and planted a soft kiss on his cheek and then backed away from him, smiling.

"I'll see you then."

She left the hanger, leaving a shocked Koemai, a grinning Diana, and a totally stunned Cain.

________

Night....

The group was to all meet at the Central Square by an all-you-can-eat restaurant. Both Koemai and Cain wore black clothes, although Cain wore dark glasses as well. 

"Where are they? I'm getting hungry."

"Just be patient. They'll come when they come."

Koemai growled a little, but then settled. "So until they get here, answer me this. I know you just slept with Aria, but wasn't there a moment that you wanted....you know, more?"

".......They're here."

The two ladies came up to them, both clothed elegantly. Diana wore a strapless red gown and shoes. Aria wore a silver Chinese gown and white shoes. She also had her hair tied in the back. Needless to say, both men were stunned.

"Whoa, Diana. Where.....how....when? Whoa."

".........!"

Both girls giggled at them and Diana softly took Koemai's hand, "Just a little something I picked up. Like?"

A giant grin came up his face, "Definitely."

Diana then looked over at Cain and Aria who were at face contact with each other. More like eye contact as Cain had removed his glasses. Diana smiled, "So Cain, what do you think?"

Cain finally blinked, "You look.....I don't think words can express it. Wonderful."

Aria blushed, "Thank you." She then took his hand, "Shall we?"

"Sure."

The four of them entered the restaurant and found their table. Since it was an all-you-can-eat restaurant, the guys decided to let the women sit while they got their meals. When they came back, they conversed about their lives as Ravens, their families (however small or non-existent), and a few of their missions. Cain was mostly quiet and Koemai constantly seemed to drag him into a conversation.

"Cain, remember the time when we were surrounded by fifty MTs? Man, those guys didn't stand a chance, right?"

Cain shook his head, "It was only fifteen MTs. And as I recall, you were too much in berserker mode to realize that you were out of ammo."

"Hey, either way, they didn't stand a chance."

After a long meal, the group then went for a walk outside. Diana held on to Koemai and he had his arm around her as they walked. However, Cain and Aria just walked side by side, both of them exchanging glances. Their fingers kept fidgeting, but neither made contact. Both Diana and Koemai noticed this and smiled.

"Excuse us for a moment." And without waiting for a reply from either of them, they quickly walked down another direction. 

The two of them shyly looked at each other and then continued walking, without making a sound. She took another glance at him. _He shies easily. It's hard to believe that he's a Raven._ She let her hand drift, showing that she wanted him to hold it. Slowly, he moved his hand and clasped hers softly. She could feel the warmth from it. He was trying to deal with his own feelings. _Why am I so shy around her?_ He looks back at her as notices that she was leading him to a bench. She sat down and pulled him down with her. Once he sat down, she rested her arm on his shoulder. Cain tensed momentarily, but then put his arm around her, almost as if it was natural. They sat there for several moments not saying a word, but enjoying each others company in silence.

"Cain?"

"Yes?"

"Have you....ever been in love before?"

"I...can't say that I have."

She began to snuggle closer, "I wanted to say...about last night, I..."

Suddenly, a low rumbling sound was heard and the ground vibrated. They broke from their embrace and looked up.

"Another one?"

A gigantic MT was a distance away, heading for the city. Koemai and Diana came out from behind them.

"Do you guys feel....Aw man, not another one!"

Aria examined the monstrous machine, "That looks like it's ready for some big time damage."

"We have to stop it. Even if it isn't a mission." Diana commented.

Koemai agreed, "Right. Are you in, Cain? Cain?"

Cain had disappeared.

Garage hanger.

_Intensify Activated. Switching to warrior mode._

Glaive was refitted with its own new Seraphim parts and it left the hanger in a roar.


	15. Angel

Disclaimer: Do I really have to say it? 

Chap. 15

The three Ravens were running to their hangers when they saw an AC zoom out in high speed. Koemai managed to get a glimpse of the machine.

"Glaive?"

The two women looked at him, "That was Glaive? What happened to it?"

"I'll explain later. Right now, we gotta hurry. I want to see him in action now."

The massive MT moved into range. It targeted an area and was charging weapons when it suddenly detected a new object, flying at it at high speed. The machine stopped and settled and it appeared that the MT stopped as well, as though it was contemplating the battle. Koemai, Aria, and Diana stood by and watched as the two machines faced off.

"That's Glaive? What happened to it?" Diana repeated

Aria looked it over and said one word, "Upgraded."

Glaive was outfitted with new boosters, all arched upward and shaped as spines _(AN: For a visual, try imagining a mix between the Wing Zero's venier boosters and the Xenogears and you can get a general idea.)_. It also had a protruding gauntlet looking weapon _(Aka- Onimusha: The ogre gauntlet.)_ and positioned on its back was a long sword. The MT fired a slew of energy beams, but Glaive instantly blasted away. The MT continued firing, but none of its shots hit Glaive. Glaive then twisted around and pointed it right arm weapon. A massive grenade shot out and hit the MT. Besides a burn mark though, the MT suffered no damage. The MT then began to split up into two MT's. The second MT flew at Glaive, firing grenade shots. Glaive avoided the blasts and knelt down. Two protrusions came out of its boosters and electricity sparked around it.

Koemai smiled, "Now watch. You'll love this."

A massive beam of energy flew out and seriously damaged the flying MT. It began to swerve back at him and Glaive put away the energy weapon. Flying up, Glaive suddenly over-boosted and his familiar Moonlight blade glistened in the air. A flash of light and the MT exploded, destroyed by the laser blade. Glaive continued to fly on OB and its arm reached back and pulled out the sword. A few protrusions extended from it and the blade glowed in the same blue-white energy as the Moonlight. The first MT fired several missile pods, but Glaive's shoulders opened and the missiles hit an energy shield. Glaive came at the MT, eyes glowing in an icy blue.

_"For dust you are and dust you will return."_

The saber went through the MT without a sound and for awhile, the MT remained active. Then it slowly slid apart and exploded in a flash. And out of the explosion, Glaive flew out; it's white armor and ignited boosters giving it the appearance of an avenging angel. One that has just served justice.

___________

"That was cool. No scratch that, beyond cool. You totally rocked out there."

Cain had just exited his AC and found the others waiting for him. He slid down the ladder and faced his friends. 

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have left like that."

"Are you kidding? Don't worry about it. You should have seen yourself. You were awesome."

Cain shrugged and looked at Aria. But his attention suddenly darted to the hanger doors.

"Koemai. We have company."

A group of thugs came in the hanger. It was the same group that had bothered them earlier several times already. Koemai moaned, "Not again. What is up with you guys?"

The leader came up to them, "We got ya now, suckers. You don't have your guns or your robots to help you."

Koemai was about to remark back, but Cain waved his arm out to stop him. He then stepped up to the leader who laughed, "Wha'cha gonna do, shrimp?"

Cain locked his gaze on him, "This has to stop, so how about I make a deal with you?" He held up a keypad, "This is fifteen hundred credits. Do I have your attention?"

The guy smiled, "Go on."

"Come this way." Cain led him to a section of the garage. There a giant circle was on the ground, "Here's the deal. If you can knock me out of the circle, the money is yours. If I knock you out, you leave us alone. Deal?"

The guy rubbed his chin, "Deal." He turned to his friend, "This is going to be the quickest cash I make."

Aria grabbed Cain arm, "What are you doing?"

Cain looked at her, his eyes different this time. _Icy, cold._ She let him go and he stepped into the circle. The thug followed and Cain stood in stance.

"Koemai, what happened...to him?"

"Oh, that? It's what he does. He's normally peaceful and nice, but once he's in a fight he kind of changes. Don't worry, he's experted in karate. He'll be fine."

Aria looked back in the 'ring' and saw what he said was true. This wasn't the shy, sweet Cain she was with earlier. This was the Raven Cain, the seemingly cold and ruthless warrior she faced before in the arena. The thug leader grinned as he faced Cain, who was motionless. The thug swung a punch and Cain blocked it. The thug swung again and Cain ducked and jabbed him hard in the kidney. He backed away and rubbed his side.

"Oh, so you are a kung-fu man, huh? Well. Waaaaaaaa!!!"  
  
The thug stood on one foot and waved his hands around. Cain just glared at him while he and his friends laughed. The guy then swings his foot out, a little too slow. Cain caught in and snapped it upward, causing him to hit the ground. The thug stood back up, a little surprised and angry. He swung out his fist again and Cain ducked, but the guy was a little smarter this time and swung again, hitting Cain's cheek. Cain reeled back to the edge of the circle and the thug charged, attempting to tackle him out. But Cain grabbed his arm, turned around, and flipped him over, tossing the thug right out of the circle. 

"See, he won."

The thugs stood up and face Cain, almost looking like he would attack him, but instead he waved his head, "Come on boys, let's go." He looked back at Cain, "A deal's a deal, right?" As they walked out, Cain called out to the leader and tossed him the credit pad.

"What's this?"

Cain looked at him, his eyes no longer cold, "For being honorable."

The leader smiled, "Be seeing ya around." With that, he left. Koemai gave him a questioning look. "For being honorable?"

"Yes. It would have been easy for him to lose his temper and have his friends attack me, but he accepted defeat instead. That's not something just anyone can do."

Koemai shook his head, "Oh, I give up!"

Cain then looked at Aria again, "I'm sorry again. It seems I spoiled your night."

"It's okay. Really, I had a great time."

Diana suddenly flashed an evil grin. Cain caught it, but was too late to stop her next words.

"It's late. Why don't you walk her home?"

Cain cringed somewhat and then looked back at her. _Why does Diana keep doing that? Oh well._ "Is that okay with you?" he asked.

"That would be nice." she seemed to glow at that moment.

Koemai patted him on the back, "Well, have a nice time. I'm going to walk Diana home as well." He linked her arm and she waved at them, "See ya!"

Cain and Aria were alone again.

It was a slow walk to Aria's house and they were quiet for the most part. But for some reason, they seemed to communicate in their silence, mostly by eye contact. They finally reached her house and Cain was about to bid her goodnight when...

"Come in. I'll let you sleep here again."

At that moment, Cain froze up again but Aria sensed his hesitation instantly, "It is late, and I can see that you are tired."

"It's okay. I'll be....."

"You've been out with us most of the night. Also you were just in an AC battle and fought a street thug. Besides, I've noticed that that bruise on your cheek is getting worse and needs to be looked at."

Cain sighed in defeat, "Thank you for your kindness."

Cain entered the house and the door closed behind. Aria entered the kitchen for some ice while Cain sat himself down. She came back with the ice and gently placed it on his cheek. He twitched a bit at the pain, but kept it to himself. Aria regarded it.

"You're truly a strange Raven. A kind and giving soul, but also a dark and fierce warrior all rolled up in one person." She removed the ice and placed her hand on his cheek to soothe it. He closed his eyes at her touch, seeming to enjoy it. She soft, warm...

"One could say the same about you." He opened his eyes, "You're always compassionate around other, but when it comes down to it, you can be a very deadly person, Aria."

"I am a Raven."

Their eyes locked again and for a minute, it seemed that last times event would repeat itself. But she removed her hand and turned away.

"Good night, Cain. I trust you know where the sweatpants are."

"Yes."

She nodded to him and went to her room. He looked a little confused, but shrugged it off and changed. He decided to sleep without his shirt on because it was a little torn in the back. But as he lay down, his thought drifted to Aria. _She's more of an enigma than I am._ He then opened his eyes and sat up. Aria was standing there, again. But this time, she was only wearing a bra and panties. Cain gulped slightly.

"There was one more reason I wanted you here."

_Oh, boy._

She slowly strode to him and lowered down to him. Suddenly she clasped him in a fierce hug and pushed him down, lying on top of him. It was the same position as last time, only this time, they were wearing less. Her head was rested snuggly on his chest while her legs were slightly off to the side, barely resting on his private parts.

"I just wanted to be held like before. I want to feel safe in the arms of another again."

Cain blinked and then smiled. He folded his arms around her back and held her tight. She let out a slight smile and closed her eyes. He did the same and they soon were asleep.

(AN: So what do you think? This may not be the romance scene you expected, but I've been reading a lot of Evangelion fics and they influenced me somewhat. Still, a scene is a scene.)


	16. New views

Disclaimer: You already know. (WARNING: Lime scene.)

Chap. 16

"So what do you think?"

"Whoa, this is cool. What did you do?"

Cain and Koemai were in the lower layer of the garage. Cain was showing him Darkhand's booster system. It was shaped differently. Instead of the massive, bulky-looking part, it was a slightly smaller unit with each booster shaped like half of a buzz-saw and colored black.

"I reformatted them. The weapons are the same, but the new aerodynamic shape will allow for higher speed. I also added several missile pods and I managed to adjust the laser cannons on both of our boosters. We can use them in flight now like a plus."

"That's great. Now we can destroy and leave all in the same second." They headed up to the surface of the garage, "So how did the rest of your night go?"

"The same."

"The same? You mean you slept with her again? As in...just sleep?"

".......Yes."

"Oh well. One has to hope, right?"

"............"

The two of them walked out of the hanger and Koemai switched to his Comferd AC. He was still working on rebuilding his Interceptor, so all he had was Comferd and Darkhand. And Darkhand was still in repairs so he'll have to use Comferd.

"So they are giving you an escort?"

"Yeah. Some Raven named Huntress. She used to be an MT pilot but moved up. Honestly, what were they thinking, hooking me up with an MT pilot?"

"I was an MT pilot."

"Oh. Well, I better get going."

The engines of Conferd roared to life and it lifted away. Cain stood there for awhile and then checked the Arena rankings. Since his match between Komai was disrupted, they both would have to fight separate opponents and it would be awhile they would fight each other again. On the plus side, they were both the highest B ranking Ravens. Looking down, he saw a Raven approaching his rank. _A new one._ Cain checked the record; AC Shriek. He was a reverse-jointed AC with a laser cannon, vertical missiles and his right arm had a hand gun. But what caught Cain's attention was the left-arm weapon. _A Moonlight blade._

"Issuing Challenge."

Cain waited for awhile for a response. It came sooner than he thought.

_"Challenge Accepted."_

__

Comferd enter the cavern. He recognized it as one of the battle arenas. With him was the Raven Huntress. It was a light gray AC with red slashes. Also with them was an MT for additional back-up.

"Alright, let's do this."

The three machines flew out and searched the cavern. Suddenly, shots fired out of nowhere and the Raven team scattered out.

"They're using stealth devices."

"Doesn't matter. Let take 'em."

Comferd flew off the side and fired his flamethrower. The flames streaked the walls and then suddenly hit something. An MT shimmered into view and Comferd unleashed a hail of bullets. The MT jittered under the attack and soon exploded.  Comferd then spun around in a circle and let his flame thrower fan out. It revealed two more MTs that started firing at him. Comferd backed out of the fired and returned it. In moments, both MTs were riddled with bullets and exploded.

"How's it going over there?"

"We're almost finished. We're taking care of the last one now."

Comferd suddenly heard an explosion, signaling that the last MT has been destroyed. Comferd then began to move back to the entrance. This wasn't much of a fight. I thought the Controller would have had more power weapons. It was then that his FCS determined another target. I thought we got rid of them all. Oh, well. Comferd flew toward the source and what he found caught him off guard.

"Thinking you can stop the Controller? What a fool idea."

It was another Raven. Comferd recognized it as AC Fanfare. He swooped in and started firing. What is he thinking? He's attacking two Ravens and an MT. It was then that Huntress came into views

"No one defies the Controller."

Suddenly, Huntress turned to him and fired her energy rifle at him. Comferd flew back and hid behind on of the stone pillars. But then Fanfare flew around and resumed firing, causing him to back away. This is crazy. Two against one isn't too fair. Comferd fired back, but Fanfare dodged the firing rounds. At the same time, Huntress flew out and fired, hitting him several times and backing him against a wall. At the same time, Fanfare recovered and swooped to him, for the kill. Suddenly, he was hit on the side by a laser beam.

"What?"

It was the MT that had joined them. Comferd took advantage and unleashed a storm of bullets and fire. Fanfare backed away at this new fury, but Comferd didn't let up and in moments, Fanfare overheated and shut down.

"I need a little help here!"

Comferd turned and saw the MT being assaulted by Huntress. The MT tried fighting back, but his weapons weren't enough to take her down and he didn't have the maneuverability to avoid Huntress. Comferd instantly over-boosted and fired on Huntress. Huntress turned and fought back. But a sniper shot from the MT damaged her critically and Comferd finished her off.

"Die, backstabbing b***h!"

Comferd then moved over to the MT, which was badly damaged.

"Hey buddy, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. But she did a good job in wrecking my MT."

"Yeah, I see what you mean. Thanks for helping me out back there."

"Hey, no problem. Comes with the job." His MT then switched to normal mode and began hovering, "Well, I'll see ya around then."

"Yeah, see ya around."

__________________

Glaive once again entered the arena. His arms folded as he waited for his opponent. Sure enough, his opponent came in. It was a green standard-colored AC. As he looked, he noticed....something about the AC.

READY. FIGHT.

Immediately, Shriek rushed forward and fired his vertical missiles. Glaive stayed in the same place for a few minutes before boosting out of the way of the missiles. Shriek slid on the floor, armed his laser cannon, and fired. Glaive dodged it and he sent repeated shots of energy. Glaive was a little baffled, _What__ is he doing?_ Glaive then went on the offensive, launching his grenade. Shriek was blasted, but out of the flames, Shriek swooped through it and ignited his blade. Glaive ignited his own blade and the two blades clashed with tremendous power. But Glaive noticed something wrong immediately.

"What's the matter? You're not charging aggressively enough with that weapon."

Shriek backed away and swung again, but his swing was too wide and easily avoided. But in the same instant, Shriek fired his hand gun. The bullets repeatedly hit Glaive and in moments, his radiator was overheating. _Now I see. The blade is just a rouse for his gun._ Glaive flew back and fired another grenade round, but it was easily avoided and Shriek continued firing.

"You have good skills. But you need to utilize all of the AC's abilities." Glaive stepped forward and pointed the grenade. Shriek instantly shot off to the side and Glaive over-boosted, blade ignited. Shriek was spooked and flew back on impulse.

"......."

Glaive fired and the grenade round smashed into the Shriek. Shriek slid back at the force and recovered, but through the remaining flames he saw a long glowing flash of energy.

**_Shhrrrrraaccckkkkkkk_****_!!!!!!!_**

The Moonlight blade bore down on Shriek and he fell back further. The blade lashed out again and cut the hand-gun off. Shriek fell down and Glaive stepped down on his left arm, preventing the blade from rising as he held his own blade before his fallen opponent.

_WINNER: Glaive_

"Huh? What are you waiting for? Finish it."

"Why does everyone keep saying that?"

"Huh?"

'Why does everyone I fight rather die?"

"As a Raven, defeat is a shameful thing."

"Who says you're defeated? If you can learn from this fight, then you can become a much better Raven. Defeat only comes when you give up."

"..............."

Glaive moved off of him. "I can tell that you are new. But I can also tell you have natural talent. I hope we fight again." Glaive began to walk away, "I hope you're improved by then."

_____________

Aria found Cain alone in one of the training gyms, striking one of the punching bags. He had just returned from his mission an hour ago. His shirt was off and his body was covered with sweat. Cain stopped punching the bag and turned to her.

"Hey Aria." He wasn't as shy as before, even though his face showed a twinge of nervousness. She said nothing, but merely moved toward him.

"Aria?"

She smiled seductively, "Hi. I see that you are training hard."

He apparently noticed because his face turned red, "Umm...well, yeah."

He continued toward him until she was right in front of him. "I wanted to ask you. Do you have a dream?"

"A dream?"

"Yes. Something to look forward to in the future."

"I'm...not sure." He was a little confused. _What was she doing?_

"Well, I have a dream." She lifted her hand and her finger touched his chest.  "I've had it for quite a while...:" She began to trace it down his body. "Would you like to know what it is?"

Her hand moved back up and rested it on his shoulder. She placed her other arm on his shoulder as well and began to move toward him. Cain was frozen in place. She moved her face even closer, "What's the matter? Don't you want this?" She was practically breathing on him. "I know I do."

Cain suddenly came out of his trance. His face was one of shock. He couldn't believe what was happening.

"I....I...have to go."

Cain immediately dashed out of the door, leaving a totally shocked Aria where she is.

_____

"You what?"

Aria and Diana met together outside. Aria related to her what had happened and Diana did her best not to explode and let the whole world know.

"I think I see what you did wrong. You came on too strong."

"I figured that. I just didn't expect for him to run away from me."

Diana bent her head up. "Well, I'm a little surprised myself."

"You are?"

"Yeah. He didn't do that before."

"Before? What do you mean?"

"Oh, well....can you keep a secret?"

"Yes."

"Well, one time I tried to seduce him. I was just playing around to test him. Anyway, when I tried he didn't faze. He just looked at me and made no move."

"He....really?"

"Uh huh. He showed that he wouldn't do that to his friend, but I think there's more to it than that. He's never had a real relationship with a woman and that's probably why he's shy, especially around you. My advice is to make up with him and let him do the advancing. You can help him along a bit, but nothing so forward. Not until you're sure."

Aria stared at her companion. Diana shrugged, "What?"

"It's funny. You don't seem like knowledgeable and wise type."

"That's the point. But just keep it between us, 'kay?."

"Sure."

At the same time...

"You what?"

Cain and Koemai were in the hanger. Koemai was finishing the final touches on his new Interceptor II AC when Cain approached him and related what happened.

"I don't believe you. If you are trying to convince me you're not human, you just succeeded."

Cain looked down to the ground, "Please. I've never been in a situation like this. If it were anything else, I probably wouldn't be here asking you."

"You really care about her, don't you?"

".......yes."

"Then tell her!" he exploded. "You're wasting so much time trying to figure it out that you got her trying to spell it out for you."

"Really?"

"Yeah. You should really tell her. It doesn't hurt not to be so passive around her either."

"Are you sure?"

"She tried to seduce you. That says enough.. I don't know what you two talk about, but you shouldn't be so shy around her."

"............"

"Listen, with the things going on today, we may be approaching another change in times. With everything going on with the corps and The Controller, things are going to happen. So you should waste time telling her how you feel before it's too late."

"?"

"What? What's with that look?"

"Are you the real Koemai?"

"Hey, that's not funny. I have my moments."

________

"Cain, are you in?"

Cain was on his computer terminal in his dorm. He looked up at her, but didn't respond.

"Look. I came to apologize. I shouldn't have come on to you like that. It's just that...well...I thought that.....I care about you a lot, Cain. I really do. I never felt this way about anyone before. I know that as a Raven, any relationship may be risky, but I felt that maybe.....I guess it doesn't matter. I'll go now."

She turns to leave, but a hand suddenly flies out and slams the door. She turns and sees Cain standing close to her, eyes closed and his head bent down.

"Do you want to know my dream?"

"Huh?"

"I have a dream. I want to see the surface. To actually feel the sun as I stand on solid, grass lined ground… But it has changed now. Because of you."

"Because of me?"

"Yes. I still wish to see the surface, but...I would like you to be there with me."

He lifted his head close to her face and opened his eyes. Those soft brown eyes... Aria could feel her heart beat rapidly.

"Aria, I care a lot about you too. If anyone should apologize, it should be me. I handled the situation poorly. I'm sorry."

Aria gazed deep into his eyes. She found herself getting lost in them. Suddenly without thinking, she instantly moved her head forward and kissed him passionately. After about a full minute of being locked, she slowly moved back.

"Oh, I did it again. I'm...."

She was suddenly cut off when he kissed her, pushing her against the door. His kiss was more passionate than hers, linked with a sense of want; of need. She moved her arms around her and deepened the kiss. This went on for a full two minutes before he backed away. A small smile lined his face.

"Don't apologize."

Aria was stunned and out of breath. _Wow. That was…that was...._She came at him again, practically lunging and pushing herself off the door. They fell back on the couch where they stayed embraced. He was caught off-guard, but didn't mind in the least. _She's become ravenous. Can't let her get her way to easily though._ He managed to roll her over to the floor in an attempt to get her on the bottom. But she rolled with him and was on top of him again.

"Nice try."

The kiss continued.  Their lips moved quickly and hungrily and it wasn't long before their tongues intertwined. Aria moaned softly and he was getting extremely excited. His hands moved to her shirt and he slowly began to unbutton it. She briefly thought about stopping him. But as the embrace became more intimate, only one thought that registered in her mind.

_Want..._

She backed away and began to pull off his shirt. At the same time, he finished taking hers off.

_Desire..._

She planted her hands on his chest and kissed him again and then he moved his lips down to her neck.

_Hunger..._

She moaned slightly at this movement and as he un-strapped her bra. He then pulled back up to her face and engaged in another passion-drenched kiss. His arms wound themselves around her waist and their bodies shuddered with euphoria from the contact as they lay together.

_Need..._

Her hands slid down to his waist and began to unbuckle his pants. He followed suit, sliding his hands down and beginning to remove her pants and panties at once. She lifted her head with an evil grin on her face.

Beep, beep.

The sound disturbed them slightly and stopped them. It was coming from his com-link on his computer. _Another mission._ He looked up at her and she down to him. Their eyes seemed to say ignore the comm and continue, but they both knew that they had lost the moment. Reluctantly, she began to lift herself up.

"You better check it."

He grabbed her arm, "I don't have to, you know."

She thought about it. As much as she wanted to, she knew she couldn't now. "No, you should check it." She began putting her clothes back on. He rose himself and did the same. But before she left, she kissed him one more time. "Another time."

Cain smiled and kissed her back and she left. He then went to the computer to check the mail. But his mind wasn't focused. _Aria._ _He was so close to...something._ It was exhilarating and he wanted to feel more of her. He shook his head. As excited as he was now, he had to focus. There's no point in dying on the battlefield. His eyes changed and he became the focused warrior once more.

_Mission__: Steal the Access Program_

_We want you to break into Rehito Labortory and steal the access program Mirage is developing there. Their reckless attempts to manipulate The Controller will not be tolerated. Extensive security is in place, so advance with care._

Without a second thought, Cain pushed in the words.

_Mission__ accepted._

The gates opened to the laboratory and in rolled the red and brown AC Fenrir. Fenrir rolled through the corridors as it searched for its target. It opened the gate and on the other side, two MTs turned to him and fired. Fenrir opened his chain-gun and instantly brought them down to size before rolling on. They're all computer controlled, meaning I don't have to worry about loss of life. The heavy AC continued through the corridors, destroying all the MTs in his path. Suddenly, his FCS went off-line.

What?

Looking ahead of the next corridor, he saw a three more MTs, two on the ground and one in the air. He recognized it. _A radar jammer.__ I can't lock on with that around. No problem._ Fenrir armed one of its arm weapons, the dual grenade launcher, and fired a massive bolt of fire. The aim was good enough to obliterate the MT and allow the FCS to work again. Fenrir shot up to EO and the energy beam quickly destroyed the other MTs. Fenrir continued on, destroying the MT that were in his way. _This is too easy. I don't like this._ Fenrir finally reached the control room and interfaced with the program. In seconds, the program downloaded. At the same time, the alarms rang and the lighting around him turned red.

_Access program downloaded. Get out of there!_

Fenrir obeyed and quickly exited the control room. But as he did, he was suddenly besieged by a storm of gunfire.

"What the...? There are more of them?"

Fenrir had to use both his EO and his chain gun to take them down. Checking his armor, he saw that had lost half his armor in that scuffle. Moving though the corridors again, he came up to a new problem. The corridor was lined with lasers. He would have to move through them quickly. Activating his boosters at full power, he flew through it the beams taking damage as he did. By the time he got through, his AP was low. _2092. That hurt a lot more than I thought. And I still have to get to the escape point._ Turning to the left, he found another group of MTs. Great. My chain-gun is empty and I have to wait for my EO to reload. Guess I'll have to use the grenades. Fenrir turned the corner and just as suddenly, the MTs fired on him. Locking on, he fired one grenade, obliterating the first MT. Without hesitation, he turned on the next MT, but rather than firing he flew back at re-activated his EO. The orbiters shot up and fired three bolts, destroying the MTs. Fenrir continued on and finally reached the escape point. Suddenly, his radar beeped and an MT came up from behind him. The rounds critically damaged Fenrir, but Fenrir managed to turn around to the MT. Next thing you know, the MT is dusted by the grenade round.

Mission complete…barely. 


	17. Justice turns to vengence

Disclaimer: Why do I even put these up? Oh yeah, so I won't be sued.

Chap. 17

While Cain had gone on his mission, Koemai received a challenge from the arena. His opponent was AC Server, a four legged type. Accepting the challenge, he decided to use Comferd. Darkhand still needed repairs and his Interceptor II was still short a few parts. _No biggy. Comferd will be more than enough anyway._ The arena was in the abandoned factory and when Comferd entered, his opponent was already waiting.

"Let's cut to the chase."

_Sure. No problem._

It was then that Comferd was suddenly slammed from the side by an energy blast. Turning to the right, he looked at another AC. _Huntress?_ A third AC then dropped in, one he hadn't seen before. This one was heavily armored and colored in a dark grey.

"Aw, come on. I know I intimidating and all, but this is ridiculous."

The dark grey one stepped forward, "You will not defy The Controller. I, Apocalypse, will see to that."

"Apocalypse? You're the one Glaive battled with."

"That's right. You can give him a message for me."

The three AC's began to move closer and Comferd raised his weapons.

"Just bring it."

_____

Fenrir had just returned from his mission. Cain exited the AC and looked it over. _Fairly damaged, but not too much._ Luckily, Glaive and Lockheed were ready at a moments notice. Looking over, Cain saw that Comferd was missing. _Another mission I guess._ He then remembered the events before he left. _Aria.__ The couch. That mind blowing kiss. The heated sensation of her half-naked body on top of him. The thrilling enrapture as she was about to...._

"Cain!"

It was Diana. She ran in out of breath and bent down a bit.

"Cain. It's Koemai. He's been hurt."

"What?"

She went on to explain his deadly encounter in his arena battle. Three Ravens from The Controller had attacked him. He fought back and they brought him down."

"Where is he?"

"At the medical ward."

Cain immediately dashed out the door with Diana behind him.

Medical Ward...

Cain arrived in the room to see his comrade wrapped up in various bandages and hooked up to several machines. Nearby, a doctor and nurse stood beside him.

"Who are you?"

"I'm his partner. What happened?"

The doctor looked at Koemai, "Direct blast to the core. If his AC wasn't so well armored, he would have been incinerated. He's actually quite lucky considering the damage his machine was in."

"How is he now?"

"Stable. We fixed most of the damage, but he'll have several burn marks on him. Also, he may have internal injuries, so we'll have to watch him closely."

"Thank you, doctor."

"Actually, may I speak with you alone?"

Okay."

Cain and the doctor stepped outside of the room and the doctor faced him.

"I was a former Raven. The damage to the AC was done on purpose. Someone took a bazooka while the AC was down and fired at point blank range. Whoever it was wanted the pilot dead or crippled."

"I was told that there were two other Ravens in the area."

"Yeah. Huntress and Server. From the damage on them, it would appear that your partner took them down first. From what I can speculate, they fought and he brought down those two before being defeated by the third. Then while he was down, he shot the core."

"You said a bazooka did that. Can you tell me what other weapons were used by this guy?"

"I believe so. From the surrounding damage, the core had to have had an EO system and an orbiter cannon. But what brought your friend down was a large missile, TITAN class."

_TITAN launcher? EO system? Bazooka? Why does this sound famil...?_

_"Finish it! I would have shown you no mercy."_

Apocalypse. This was his doing. Cain's fist clenched, but his face remained neutral.

"Thank you, doctor. You've been helpful."

"You know who did it, don't you?"

Cain simply nodded.

"I can tell. You have that murderous gleam in your eyes. But before you do anything, you should speak to your friend. He should be waking up by now."

Cain nodded and re-entered the room. There, they were greeted to a strange sight. Diana and Koemai were engaged in a 'tug of war' with their lips. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending) for Koemai, he was losing.

"Don't you two ever stop?"

Diana suddenly backed away, with an embarrassed grin on her face. "I...was just happy he was still alive, I...uhhh...kinda got carried away."

Koemai gave a pained grin, "Hey, there's nothing like a kiss to wake me up."

Cain face grew serious, "Diana, could you leave us alone?"

"Huh?" She saw his face. "Sure." She bent over and gave Koemai another kiss, "See ya later."

After she left, Koemai's smile also disappeared, "It was Apocalypse."

"I know. I'm guessing he did this as a message to me."

"Yeah, but that's not all. The Controller sent them. That was their main goal."

The Controller again. Why does it keep attacking us? What is so different about us from the other Ravens? Cain was about to ask another question when Koemai suddenly started couching badly and blood came out of his mouth. Cain called the doctor and he and another doctor checked on him.

"Damn. He's bleeding internally. You'll have to leave now."

Cain nodded and walked out the door. As he did, he could hear Koemai coughing even harder and more pained. Cain clenched his fists again.

_Koemai__.__ This time, I'll be vengeance._


	18. Sad Night

Disclaimer: Same as before

Chap. 18

Aria went over to Cain's dorm room and knocked on his door. When no response came, she turned the knob and opened the door. There, Cain was sitting in the dark at his computer terminal. His eyes were blank as he continued to work.

"I heard what happened."

He didn't answer and continued to type. She moved over to him and looked over his shoulder. He was looking at the schematics of The Controller's location.

"You can't be serious. You can't fight The Controller."

"Yes I can."

Aria grabbed his shoulder, "Think about this. The Controller, well for lack of a better word, controls everything. It has considerable power and many who oppose it don't live long."

"Yes I know. I have a friend right now who near death's door because of it."

Aria blinked. She never heard him speak in such a deadly tone. But there was something else. He's holding something back.

"Cain, what is this about? There's more to this than Koemai."

Cain jumped up angrily and faced Aria. He was about to say something when his face suddenly dropped and his anger faded.

"Why did that have to happen? I'm his partner. I should have been able to help him."

Aria stared at him for awhile. Then lifting her hand, she raised it to his cheek.

"What could you have done?" she whispered.

His eyes locked onto hers and he saw what she had done. He realized that he wouldn't have been able to do anything. Even if he wasn't on his current mission, he still wouldn't have been able to do anything. Aria watched his face as it began one of grief. Slowly she moved forward and gave him a tight embrace. He returned the hug and she felt his tears on her shoulder.

"It's okay."

His head slowly came back, grazing her cheek as he did. His face stopped moving and stayed close to hers.

"Thank you."

She looked into his eyes again and was surprised by what she saw. _Hurt. Pain. So much pain. He keeps it all in to himself. Until now..._

Suddenly without realizing it, her lips made contact with his. Even more stranger was that he didn't resist. In fact, he wrapped his arms around her and deepened the kiss. She found herself trying to keep up with him. He's moving fast. She paced to keep up and put her arms around his neck. Taking it a step further, she let her tongue slide against his mouth. Opening his, he accepted it and his own tongue enter into her mouth. She gave a small moan and began to sink to the floor. He followed and both of them were kneeling on the ground, still locked in their kiss. Cain found that the second she kissed him, he became lost in a whirlwind of emotion. This kiss is better than the last one, was all he could think of right now. His mouth began to drift and attach themselves to her neck. She gave out another moan and he as well. _So soft.__ Delicious._ Sheer pleasure began to over-ride his senses as his hands moved to undress her. She let her hands down as he pulled off her shirt. Once done, she then removed his, revealing his bare body. Embracing again, he moved her down to the floor. Her hair spread back like wildfire as he moved close to her, ready to ravage and take her.

"No."

"Huh?"

Cain lifted himself off of her, "I see what you are doing. I won't take advantage of you like this. No matter how I feel."

She arose herself, her gaze never breaking away from his. All she wanted to do was relieve him of the pain she saw in his eyes.

"Please. I want you to. I want to help you, even a little."

"No. It....wouldn't be fair to you."

Aria closed her eyes and opened them again. Cain expected to see anger or tears, but he saw nothing, but compassion.

"I'm sorry."

"I know."

Three hours later...

The Controller's complex was heavily guarded. Only someone highly skilled or highly suicidal would even dare try to fight their way through.

It was unknown which one of these this Raven was.

The machine swooped through the corridors, destroying the various energy beams shooting at it. The machine then reached a hall that lead to an upper level. As it flew up, it encountered more energy beams. Using its energy blade, it quickly slashed them and managed to reach the door on top. The Raven then reached an elevator and stood on it. Every now and again, it would encounter a few probes which were quickly brought down. Then the Raven received a message from Crest.

"We don't know what it is you hope to achieve here."

I wish to end someone's pain

"What can be gained by disrupting the present order?"

I only do this, because I have to.

"I guess it doesn't matter either way.

No. I guess it doesn't.

The elevator finally stopped and a pair of doors opened.

_"Go on. Let's see where the future goes on your decision."_

_My decision.__ Yes, my decision. To protect the one I love. I love him._

With that, the AC Firewave launched through the doors.


	19. Three words

Disclaimer: Same as before, so don't bother asking…

Chap. 19

_Flashback..._

"I'm sorry."

"I know."

Aria reached down to her shirt and Cain looked away. But rather than put it on, she reached into the front pocket and pulled out a small object. Silently, she stabbed it into his shoulder. He looked at her in surprise, but then his eyes slowly closed and he suddenly collapsed on her. She held him for a moment. The tranquilizer had done its job. Slowly she laid him on the ground and put her shirt on. As she did, she looked down on him. I know you will be angry at me for this, but I have to. She finished dressing and bent down next to him. Softly, she caressed his check and gave him a light kiss.

"I love you."

Flashback end…

I love you. _I never said that to anyone before. I've known, trusted, and maybe even liked other guys. But never once have I ever truly loved them. Not like him._ Firewave continued to move through the corridors. _Not like this. Not enough to risk my life like this._ Firewave reached a giant pair of doors and they opened before her. Before her was a massive hallway that lead upward. She checked the map schematic. _The Controller's core is just beyond here. So why does this look too good to be true?_ She then saw it. Two dark figures were seen above the top of the hall. Two Ravens. Both were two-legged type AC's. The first one was middleweight with a laser rifle. The other was heavily armored, armed with a bazooka.

"You have defied The Controller. Prepare to die."

Both Raven jetted toward her and began firing. Aria quickly dodged to avoid the fire as she assessed the situation. _Okay, two Ravens. I have to keep moving and wear them down._ Firewave unleashed a wave of bullets from her machine gun, shooting the first Raven. Since it has lighter armor, it would be easier to defeat first. However, the Raven dodged behind a column, blocking her fire. At the same time, the heavy Raven fired at her with his bazooka. Firewave barely managed to dodge the fire when the first Raven came out and fired its laser rifle. Firewave was hit by the energy, but kept moving.

"Give yourself up. Death come to all of us, so why don't you make yours quick?"

"Who do you think you are?"

"I am the Apocalypse!"

_Apocalypse?__ The Raven that attacked Darkhand._ Firewave suddenly shot forward and fired at him. Apocalypse took the fire and activated its EO orbiter. Firewave sidestepped the energy beams, but was suddenly hit from behind. The second Raven had fire missiles at her. Fortunately, they were small missiles and didn't cause too much damage. However, now it was firing another swarm at her. Firewave activated her missile interceptors and thin beams of energy destroyed them. Apocalypse managed to turn around and now both Ravens were beginning to close in on her. She then got an idea. Firewave backed up further and the other Ravens were backing her against the wall. Suddenly, she OB and shot right past them. Then in one fluid motion, she shut of the over-boost, slid and turned on the ground, activated her linear cannon, and locked on to the second Raven. A white light flew out and the second Raven managed to avoid it, but the force of the beam destroyed its left arm.

"Alright!"

She didn't notice the object that flew out of Apocalypse and hovered toward her. Firewave was about to fire again when she saw it.

"Holy...!"

She retracted her cannon to dodge it, but it was too late. The missile impacted her with a tremendous explosion.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!"

Firewave slammed backward and the two Ravens began to close in on her again. Inside, Aria jerked the controls, but the machine didn't respond.

"Come on, move! Firewave, please."

The two Raven were now before her, guns raised.

"Bye, bye."

Aria closed her eyes and she heard the sound of weapons fire. But she was still alive. She opened her eyes and looked. Apocalypse and his partner now faced a single high-red Raven. Its right arm was colored black.

"Darkhand?"

Apocalypse looked at the Raven. "Fool. No one defies The Controller. Didn't you learn that last time?"

"Guess I'm a slow learner. But don't worry, I came prepared."

Suddenly from above him, another Raven appeared and slid in front of Darkhand. A familiar blue-white blade ignited from the white colored AC.

"Leave him to me, Darkhand."

_Glaive.___


	20. Response

Disclaimer: Same as before.

Chap. 20

Flashback...

Cain awoke in his room, slightly disoriented. He held his head and tried to remember what happened. _What…? Koemai…hospital…vengeance…Aria…tranquilizer?_ Cain touched his shoulder and found the tranquilizer pellet. Why would she…? His eyes then widened and he looked at the computer. All of his information on The Controller's location had been duplicated. _What is she thinking?_ He was about to turn it off when a message came up.

_Cain,_

_You will probably hate me for this, but I have to do this. I do not want you to become dark. When I looked into your eyes tonight, I saw something I never thought I could have seen. I saw…innocence and nobility. The way you are, the way you act, even the way you fight and yet you will not take another's life, nor take advantage of someone's pain. I want to protect that because that is what I see in you and care for. I will not let vengeance consume your heart. I will die before that happens._

_Goodbye_

_Aria_

_P.S. I love you, Cain_

Cain's eyes widened with surprise when he read the last line. She…loves me? Cain began to blink rapidly as he re-read the words in his head.

_She loves me?_

_She loves me._

_She loves me!_

Cain suddenly refocused his thoughts. _Aria, I can't let you do this. You're not going to die on me._ Downloading the information, he quickly ran out the door and toward his AC. 

Glaive, let's go.

He entered the cockpit and activated the controls. But before he could close the hatch.

"Cain!"

Cain blinked, Koemai?

Cain exited the AC to see his partner down below him. Next to him, Diana was holding him up.

"What are you doing here?"

"I figured you'll need my help."

"Your help?"

"I saw Aria leave out of the hospital window. Since I know she visited you last, I figure that she must have left to do something crazy."

Cain narrowed his eyes. How the heck did he pick all of that up?

"I'll go alone. You can't help me. Not in your condition."

"My condition is better than yours right now."

"What do you mean?"

You're panicking, something that you don't normally do. What happened between you two? What did she say?"

"She told me…that she loves me."

"I thought so. You're an emotional wreck. If you go into battle like that, you'll only get killed."

"And if you go like that, you'll get killed."

"Not if you're backing me up. Just like I'll back you up. Remember, we are the Hands of God. Vengeance…"

Cain looked at his friend. He's right. I hate to admit it, but he has a point. And I can't argue further. Aria will need my help. But I won't be able to in my current state of mind.

"…and justice."

Flashback end…

So Glaive, I see you got my message."

"............"

"What, no words? Did I tick you off that bad?"

Glaive didn't answer him. Rather he sent a private channel to Firewave.

"Firewave. Firewave, come in. Aria, please respond."

"Ughhh, Glaive. Is that you?"  
  


"Yeah, it's me. Are you alright?"

"Yeah, just a little ruffled."?

"What were you thinking coming here alone? Are you crazy?"

"No crazier than you, Cain. Now go, fight. Don't worry about me."

Glaive re-focused his attention on Apocalypse.

"So, you still wish to defy The Controller. Then you too will perish, just like her." He pointed his gun toward the damaged Firewave.

Darkhand strode forward, "Don't worry, Glaive. I'll take care of him."

"No."

"No?"

"I'll take care of it. Don't worry, I'll...manage."

"Be careful."

With that, Darkhand suddenly shot toward the second AC, firing his laser rifle. Meanwhile, Apocalypse and Glaive had a stand off.

"Now it is time to reap what you have sown, Glaive." A blue blade of light extended out of his left arm. A Moonlight blade.

"The end for you is near."

Glaive extended his own blade.

"And he perished by the edge of the sword."

With that said and both blades raised high, Glaive and Apocalypse charged at each other.


	21. Role Reversal

Disclaimer: Same as before.

Chap. 21

Glaive and Apocalypse clashed into each other, blades sparking against each toher. Apocalypse was the first to back away and fire his bazooka. Glaive dodged the shots and returned fire, but Apocalypse suddenly shot away in the other direction.

"Surprised? I'm equipped with a highly advanced OP-Intensify unit. A perk for loyalty to The Controller." Apocalypse fired some more. "I'm far more powerful than you."

Glaive continued to wheel around the continuous shell fire. _Damn, he is stronger than before._

Meanwhile, Darkhand had his hands full with the other Raven. It continued to fire its laser rifle at him, keeping him off guard. And whenever, Darkhand fired back, the Raven would always dodge the energy blasts.

"Damn it. Hold still!"

Darkhand switched to his laser cannon and slid around. With his Intensify option part active, he could now move while using back cannon type weapons. But despite that, the Raven still avoided the shots.

"Why can't you just stand still and die!"

The Raven twisted around and fired small object from its back. The objects encircled Darkhand.

_What are...? Crap, orbiters!_

The little objects suddenly fired beams of energy at him and Darkhand flew away. But the orbiters continued their assault, keeping Darkhand off balance. Eventually, the orbiters stopped and exploded away. But Darkhand had lost visual of his opponent.

"Where did he...Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!"

Darkhand was hit from the back, destroying his laser cannon and damaging his chain gun. The Raven swooped from behind and fired a swarm of laser attacks. Darkhand was forced to run while the Raven continued on his back.

Meanwhile, Glaive was being hammered back by Apocalypse. His speed and heightened energy reserves were beginning to wear him down.

_I should have equipped the Seraphim parts. I might be able to win with...wait. What am I saying? It's not the power of the machine that makes the Raven, but the skill of the pilot._

Glaive suddenly changed direction and over-boosted toward Apocalypse.

"Ah, ah. That won't work on me again."

Apocalypse activated his EO system and thin beams of energy fired out. At the same time, he backed away just as Glaive fired his grenade launcher, missing him totally. But the explosion blinded Apocalypse briefly and Glaive fired again, destroying his TITAN large missiles. In a rage, Apocalypse fired his bazooka, hitting Glaive and damaging his grenade launcher. Glaive backed away, but Apocalypse was relentless and Glaive was cornered.

_Great.__ I'm overheating. Controls are down._

Apocalypse saw that Glaive couldn't move.

"Ha. Busted."

____

Darkhand was still running away from the Raven, trying to avoid the deadly laser rifle.

"That's it. No more running."

Darkhand suddenly jettisoned his chain gun, grabbed it, twisted around and tossed it at his opponent. The Raven was pushed back by it and Darkhand fired, striking the leg. The Raven bent down and raised his laser rifle, but Darkhand was already on him, his green blade blazing and slicing down on the rifle. The rifle was pushed back and Darkhand reared his right arm back.

"Now you'll know why I'm called Darkhand!"

The black arm shot forward and crushed in the AC's head, obliterating it. Still holding it, Darkhand drove the AC straight into the ground, smashing it down.

"So...this is what justice feels like."

____

Apocalypse slowly made his way to Glaive, taking his time to enjoy his victory.

"I want you to know, I'm going to enjoy this."

Inside, Cain was frantically working on the controls. _Come on, just a few more seconds._

Apocalypse raised his bazooka and aimed it at the cockpit.

"Leave him!"

Apocalypse turned to see Firewave aiming its linear cannon at him. Apocalypse swiftly moved and fired at her before she could lock on.

"Ahhhhhhh!"

Firewave fell down again and Apocalypse laughed, "How sweet. Fresh meat." He aimed at her, "And here I though you were already dead. Fortunately, I can correct that error."

Suddenly, Apocalypse lurched to the side in sparks. On the side, Glaive had stabbed him with his blade and Apocalypse fell to the side.

"Never take your eyes off your true opponent!"

Glaive charged again and Apocalypse struck out in a panic. But the heavy armored arm moved too slowly and Glaive avoided the blow and his blade came up. _What? He damaged the Intensify option? But how?_ Apocalypse shot back and fired his bazooka, but Glaive dodged the shot and came in a furious rage.

"RAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!"

The blade struck just below the cockpit and Glaive pushed him down, impaling him into the ground. Glaive watched as Apocalypse's systems burned, overheated and eventually shut down. Glaive then removed the blade, but didn't shut it down.

"Finish it."

Glaive said nothing and merely raised the blade. The blade swooped down and stopped right in front of Apocalypse.

"It is finished."

Glaive moved away, but unknown to him, Apocalypse slowly rose and aimed his bazooka.

"You...are a fool!"

Suddenly, Apocalypse exploded in a white explosion of light. Glaive turned to see only charred remains of the massive AC. Looking further down, he saw Firewave, her linear cannon lined with energy. It was then that Darkhand made his way to Glaive.

"Are you okay?"

Glaive didn't say anything as he looked over at Firewave. Darkhand was about to ask again when a massive pair of doors opened at the far end.

"That's The Controller's central area."

Glaive still didn't respond.

"I'll go ahead. You should go to her."

Glaive then came out of his trance, "Right. We'll catch up."

Darkhand entered the massive doors while Glaive made his way to the damaged Firewave. Glaive bent down before Firewave and the cockpit opened. Firewave's hatch opened as well and Aria came out bruised and battered, but alright. She climbed into Glaive and sat next to the pilot.

"Why?"

Aria looked up at him, "I didn't want to see you die." 

"But you should have known that I would come."

She smiled, "I did. But I hoped that I would have handled everything by then. I'm sorry to have worried you."

Cain smiled as well, "Don't be." He hesitated a bit, "About what you said in your letter. Did you really...?"

"I need a little help in here."

_Darkhand__!_

"I'm on my way."


	22. Freedom

Disclaimer: Same as always. I do not own this.

Chap. 22

Glaive fired its boosters and entered the large doors Darkhand went through earlier. Before him was a massive pillar-like structure. Computer technology swarmed around it.

"So...this is The Controller."

"Help."

Looking to the left, they saw Darkhand high above them, being blasted by the last remaining defense lasers.

"I dropped my gun down there somewhere."

Looking down, Glaive saw the Karasawa gun. Picking it up, Glaive quickly fired the defenses, blowing them to shreds. However, the lasers then locked on to him and began firing. Glaive blocked the barrage, but the right arm, along with the gun was sliced off. Glaive fell to the ground.

"Uggggghhhhhh!"

The lasers continued firing and Glaive was getting beaten.

_No. Not like this._

Suddenly, a red blur shot straight past them and slid on the ground. It was Darkhand, and he had just retrieved the laser rifle.

"No Glaive. This is how it's done."

Darkhand fired, destroying the defenses effortlessly. When they were all gone Darkhand pointed upward.

"The weak point is there."

With one shot, Darkhand fired up toward the center of the pillar. It exploded and revealed the computer's energy reactor. Darkhand aimed at it.

"Like shooting fish in a.....Ahhhhhhhhh!!!!"

Unfortunately, Darkhand had missed one of the laser defenses and it hit him hard. Darkhand stumbled back and the cannon were about to fire again when...

"My turn."

Glaive suddenly over-boosted up to the laser and with the left hand, sliced it down to size.

"Darkhand, it's clear. Take the shot."

"I can't. That damn laser damaged the rifle. I can't use it now."

It was then that more laser cannons emerged. Glaive looked up at the core.

"I'll deal with it."

Glaive over-boosted again, straight at the core. The lasers began to pummel him, but Glaive kept going. Glaive then reached the core and raised the blade.

"It's over!"

The blade struck the core and it began to spark. Glaive quickly jumped away as the core computer began to explode. However, something new suddenly happened.

The Controller began to speak...

_Energy supply diminishing_

_Executing final directive_

_Surface access unlocked_

_System shut...ting d...o...wn._

"What was that? Something about the surface?"

A low rumbling suddenly sounded throughout the entire chamber. Glaive and Darkhand looked around, searching for the source.

"Where's that coming from?"

"I don't...wait. Up there."

High above, an opening appeared and widened open. Looking up, they could see the door locks that separate them from the surface slowly opening. Bright light slowly crept in and they opened.

"That's...sunlight."

"The surface. But how..."

_Executing final directive_

"Was this supposed to happen? What does it mean?"

Glaive looked over at Darkhand. "Darkhand, I'm going to check it out. Will you be okay here?"

"No prob. Go on."

Glaive ignited his boosters at full charge and slowly began to lift up toward the light. It increased in speed and it finally entered into the light. Inside, both Cain and Aria's eyes widened.

"Wow!"

Glaive landed in the middle of a grass-laded field, covered with various types of flowers. The sun shone brilliantly through the clouds in a multi-colored atmosphere.

"The surface."

Aria looked around, "It's healed. The entire planet."

Suddenly the cockpit opened and Cain stepped out.

"Cain, wait!"

Cain stood outside out the cockpit hatch and looked around. The wind blew lightly through the air and Cain took a deep breath.

"Cain." Aria stepped outside. "It could have been radioactive out here. You could have been killed."

Cain turned to her and Aria found something that she had never seen before.

Cain smiling. _A true smile._

"It's just the way I always thought. Now I understand. The Controller. The directive. We are free now."

Suddenly Cain jumped down and began running. Aria watched in disbelief as he ran laughing wildly. Shaking her head, she climbed down from Glaive and went after him. As she touched the ground, she instantly felt..._something. This is new._ Looking up, she saw Cain still running and disappearing into a tall field of grass. Aria ran and entered through the grass, looking for him.

"Cain? Cain where are you?"

She moved deeper in and looked further, but found no sight of him. She began to worry that something may have happened to him.

"Haaaaaa!"

Suddenly, Aria was tackled into the ground and she fell into the grass. Looking up, she saw Cain holding on to her, a big grin lined on his face.

"Gotcha."

Aria glared, "Oh, so you think that's funny?" She grabbed some of the grass and tossed it at him. Cain playfully shielded himself as she did that. Aria then shot up and tackled him back.

"Not so funny now, is it?"

She looked down at him and saw that the grin had faded into a smile.

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"My dream. Thank you for letting it come true."

Aria stayed on him and moved closer, "You're absolutely welcome."

"I'd like to return the favor now."

His hand rose up and caressed her cheek.

"I...love you."

Aria smiled and moved in, "Strange words for a Raven."

Their lips connected in a loving kiss as Glaive stood nearby, looking at the new world that was now open.


	23. Epilouge

Disclaimer: The same as before.

Chap. 23

With The Controller no longer in control and the surface now open, things in Layered moved in a rapid pace to once again move to the surface. Corporations worked to build as quickly as possible. And as they did, they fought with each other, thus the need for Ravens continued. It seemed as the more things changed, the more they stayed the same. But the surface, fro the most part remained untouched. Also, Mars became aware of Earth's new ability and the hope of Mars benefiting from this aroused and travels between the two planets became more frequent.

And of course, no one knows why the surface opened or who were the ones who stopped the Controller, aside from a few vague reports of a group of Ravens that were involved.

_Delta Spaceport..._

Koemai, Diana and Cain were in the lobby.

"So you're really going, huh?"

"Yeah. Don't worry. I'm just going to check it out there because I heard of the new space technology. If they're right, AC's will be able to travel through space without assistance."

"So you're not worried about Aria?"

"Nah. But I am a little nervous about....you know."

"Don't worry. I'm sure her mom will like you.

_"Flight 3749 now ready to leave."___

That's my flight. Guess I'll be seeing you later."

Diana moved and hugged him, "Take care, Cain."

She moved away and Cain looked at Koemai. The two clasped their hands together in a firm handshake.

"Remember, we still have a match to finish."

"Of course."

Cain nodded to him and made his way to the spacecraft deck. As he lifted up in the elevator, he waved at them and they waved until he disappeared inside. Cain entered the ship, passing the holding area where Glaive was held. He made his way to his chambers where he was to seat himself. The ship rumbled and rocked and finally lifted off. As it did, Cain looked at surface, remembering how beautiful it is and how beautiful the Earth looks from outer space. The shutter finally closed and a glint of light hit his finger, shining off a ring with a raven engraved upon it. At that time, his chamber door opened and in stepped Aria.

"Hi. So you found me first after all."

Aria didn't respond as the chamber door closed. Quietly, she moved to Cain and sat on his lap, holding him in a tight embrace.

"You're going to love my mom, really."

"I'm not worried. Well, maybe a little bit."

Aira looked at his eyes, "What is it?"

Cain looked back, "I just can't believe all that has happened. The surface opening, me going to Mars, and especially you."

"What? Too much to handle?" she teased.

"Nah. I just never thought I could...feel like this." Cain looked away.

"Like what?"

"Happy."

She smiled and snuggled close to him, "I'm glad. I feel the same way."

The two sat together in a peaceful silence and then Cain spoke up again.

"So... what should we do in the meantime? We could always practice in the simulators..."

Aria suddenly turned on him, "Oh no. You've escaped me one time too many and you certainly not getting away from me now..." Her hand held on to his and it was also bearing a ring with the same raven symbol on it.

Aria grinned, "Especially not on our honeymoon. Face it. You're all mine now, Glaive."

Cain saw the look on her face and grinned as well, "Alright, Firewave. Let's just see how hot you really are."

"Gladly."

Several months later, Mars has developed new components that allow for AC combat in open space. At the same time, Earth developed it and used it for standard equipment. As a result, the possibilities of space-faring ecosystems began. In this time, a new set of Arenas have opened and a new battlefield has been set.

As well as missions...

"This is unit 2349. The forces are all clear to go. Preparing to attack the target."

KABOOOOMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!

"What was that? Two AC's? They hired Ravens!"

"Aw crap! It's them! The Hands of God!"

The two Ravens, decked in their Seraphim parts came at them.

"The dark hand of vengeance is here!"

"With this blade, justice will be served."

VRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!

_AN: Thank you for reading this fanfic. Truth is that I almost gave up on this one in chapter 1. But after awhile you just start writing and can't stop. So thanks for the reviews and sayonara._

_For now…_


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